Danger Zone
by Howesky
Summary: Post War. When Hermione's life comes crashing down around her, who does she befriend, but Blaise Zabini, who he introduces her to the supposedly new Draco Malfoy. Has he really changed for the better? Rated M for language and sexual content
1. Chapter 1

Danger Zone

Chapter 1

**A/N Hey, this is my first fanfic so please bear with me that this may start out a bit slow, but I hope to improve as the story progresses! Constructive criticism is always appreciated, so have a read and tell me what you think of it. Enjoy!**

**Chloe :D**

** /**

Hermione Granger was on top of the world. She had a great job that she excelled at, great friends and a wonderful boyfriend. It had been almost 3 years since she and Ron had admitted their feelings for each other. To any outsider however, their preference for each other had been obvious for years.

As she walked to their shared home just outside muggle London she took in the sight of flowers starting to bloom in a nearby park and thought about her relationship with Ron. He was perfect for her. They were not only partners, but also best friends; the only person who knew them just as well was Harry Potter, their best friend of 10 years. Ron never pushed Hermione to do anything she didn't want to, he respected her the way a true gentleman should. He was so gentlemanly that after all this time, they still hadn't 'done the deed' so to speak. Sure, they'd done everything else, but to Hermione, sex doesn't define a relationship, and something told her she wasn't ready. That is, until today.

'Tonight', she thought, 'tonight I'll show him just how much he means to me. I will give myself to him in my entirety and be his, truly his'.

Normally she wouldn't even dream of leaving work early to prepare for something like this, but it would be her first time, and she wanted it to be special. So what she'd decided to finish at lunch? Sometimes it was nice to have a break from the usual 9 until 5 routine she'd settled into at St Mungo's. It wasn't as if she didn't have any leave either, she made a point to work her hardest for the sake of others, so she deserved an afternoon off.

There didn't seem to be anything different about today, but when she woke up that morning, she knew there'd been a change in her. It was hard to work out at first, but as she was tending to a newly pregnant woman that morning, it had hit her. She, Hermione Jean Granger, was ready to grow up; to suck up all her worries, tap into her Gryffindor courage, and become a woman, a woman who was capable of having her own family. To have a family, she mused, she needed to have sex. From that moment on, her mind told her she was ready.

So after shopping for groceries to cook a surprise meal for Ron tonight, and buying some rather naughty lingerie, here she was, practically skipping home with her power song 'Danger Zone' by Kenny Loggins blaring in her ears. Oh how ironic it would be that afternoon, and not simply from the prospect of finally being deflowered that evening.

** /**

As she opened the front door, she took her earphones out of her ears and placed her bags in the hallway. Whilst taking off her jacket she was surprised to see Ron's coat on the stairs. She could've sworn he had taken it to work that morning. She dismissed it, thinking she may finally be going crazy, when she heard the loud crash and bang, followed by a scream.

Hermione's heart started racing as she reached into her pocket and grabbed her wand. Summoning her Gryffindor courage, she stealthily started climbing the stairs, wand poised at the ready. She mentally scolded herself for worrying so, she had faced perils much worse than an intruder or two: a hoard of death eaters for starters!

As she neared the top of the stairs, she heard another sound. It didn't sound at all like someone was robbing the house or hurting someone. It sounded like, dare she say it, giggling and grunting!

She tiptoed to the only open door she could see, which happened to be the room she and Ron shared. As she peered in, her eyes widened and her mouth hung open, as if she was trying to catch flies. There, on the floor of their bedroom, Ron was shagging who appeared to be the one and only Pansy Parkinson.

The room was a complete mess. Their bed was broken (hence the previous crash she assumed) clothes were everywhere, and pillow feathers were still floating about around the pair.

Hermione just stood there staring as she watched her boyfriend of 3 years take the slytherin girl she despised for her narrow-minded ways from behind I the middle of their bedroom. Sex in such a position to her seemed so degrading. Being fucked from behind like an animal, it just didn't seem right to her. She felt bile rise to her throat.

'Ron', Hermione whispered as she slowly edged closer to the room.

'Yeah Pansy?' Ron panted.

'I didn't say anything baby', Pansy replied, sounding just as out of breath as Ron. He must've hit a more sensitive spot, as the girl let out a loud, high pitched moan. 'Harder baby, please, please', she begged.

'RONALD WEASLEY!' Hermione shouted over the two, finally finding her voice.

The couple turned around as best as the could in the compromising position they were in, shock as plain as day on their faces as they saw Hermione standing in the doorway.

'Shit Hermione! It's not what it looks like!' Ron pleaded, throwing Pansy the bed covers after swiftly exiting her and climbing into his boxers.

'Oh really Ronald? So I didn't just catch you fucking Pansy fucking Parkinson on our bedroom floor then?' Hermione spat at him.

'No, yes, I mean…'

'Enough Ron, I don't want to hear your excuses. Just get out of this house before I hex you both to oblivion'

Ron was about to say something, but quickly shut his mouth after meeting his –more than likely- soon to be ex girlfriend's icy glare, which Pansy also got. The girl had gotten the message before Hermione had even finished talking and was half dressed by this time, silently encouraging Ron to do the same before grabbing his arm in an attempt to haul him down the stairs and out of the door. She was eventually able to do so after he sent Hermione an apologetic look, almost begging her to tell him to stay, which was met with the same cold stare as before.

As soon as she heard the door slam shut and the distinct 'pop' to say that the pair had apparated away Hermione's knees gave out. This sent her tumbling to the floor, with a sharp pain to her chest as she felt her heart breaking. Thankfully the pain was vanquished when she managed to accidentally hit her head on the door frame on her way to the floor, sending her into a welcoming blackness.

****** /**

**So what do you think? R&R**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**A/N Look who got the next chapter up in the same day ;) Okay, I know it's a rather boring filler chapter, but the next chapter will be the one that stuff starts happening, I promise! I'm gonna start it tonight so I should have it up on Saturday at the latest. So enjoy, R&R**

**Love and cupcakes, Chloe :D**

As soon as they appeared in Diagon Alley, Ron started cursing under his breath. Pansy didn't know what to do about him; she'd never seen him like this. Sure she knew Hermione would've found out sooner or later, but she believed Ron was going to leave her like he said he would months ago, but the problem was he never did. For a gryffindor he really seemed like a spineless coward sometimes, he couldn't even live up to his promises.

'We knew this would happen eventually Ron, and you said months ago you'd had enough of her and her prudish ways, so just forget about her baby, you don't need her. You have me now', she finally said.

He muttered something unintelligible under his breath and she lost it.

'For fuck's sake Ron! You can't do anything about this now; it's all said and done! Just fucking look at me!' she said, grabbing him by his arm and turning him round.

'Piss off Pansy, I don't want to look at your pug-like face any longer! You just caused me to lose the one person I love on this earth, I want nothing more to do with you. Don't try to owl me, or floo me or contact me in any way shape or form, just get out of my life', and with that he apparated to 12 Grimmauld Place to see his best friend, leaving a broken hearted Pansy staring at the space he had just occupied.

**/**

Ginny was excited, sure being Hermione Granger's best friend had its perks, but knowing her sex life with her brother was not something a younger sister would usually want to know. Granted, she wasn't thrilled about the prospect of knowing how good Ron was in bed as it was just a disgusting thought, but she knew what a big a deal this was to Hermione, so she channelled her repulsion into glee for the sake of her best friend.

Being the only person other than Hermione herself that knew about tonight, she knew something was up when a 'pop' came from in the kitchen where she and Harry now lived and Ron's panicked voice drifted through the walls.

Thankfully, she was in the living room, which was the room next to the kitchen, so she snuck to the door and listened to the conversation the boys were now having about the events of the afternoon.

'That slimy bastard' she thought to herself, 'Hermione must be a complete wreck'. She pondered for a minute longer at the door, listening to her boyfriend scold her brother when she realised that Hermione would've contacted her before Ron even had the thought of seeing Harry. No-one else knew about her plans for tonight, so should would've apparated straight there when she kicked Ron out, or at least texted her, seeing as she loved muggle technology so much that whenever something happened of any proportion, she would contact her via her phone. Something was wrong.

Grabbing a handful of floo powder she stepped into the fireplace and went straight to Hermione and Ron's house, worry plaguing her all the while.

**/**

When Ginny arrived at Hermione's she was immediately struck with new anxiety. It was starting to get dark outside and there wasn't a sound around the house. She searched the whole bottom floor of the house and even checked the garden, which meant that her best friend must either be upstairs or at someone else's house, probably Luna's. She hoped the former.

She saw the bags that had been left in the hallway, and realised that they probably hadn't been touched since they had been put down. Curiosity got the better of her and she decided to check the bags, when she came across the lingerie Hermione bought earlier that day, and commended her on her taste; it was very similar to her own! 'Focus Ginny!' she thought to herself, 'you need to just check that Hermione's okay!'

She quickly pulled out her phone and texted Luna to see if Hermione was at her house before setting off up the stairs.

When she got to the top of the stairs and saw Hermione lying on the floor with a small pool of blood splotching the carpet near her head she ran straight to her, pulling her phone out of her pocket as she did so, calling Harry who answered on the second ring.

'Ginny? Why are you calling me? Aren't you in the house?'

'Harry listen to me, you need to get some healers to Hermione's right now. I flooed over after I heard what Ron had done to her to comfort her and I just found her in their room, unconscious with a head wound which is bleeding. I would move her but I know that you're not meant to move people with head injuries, even with levitation charms and I don't want to leave her, so please get some healers NOW!'

'Right… okay, we'll be right there'

'No Harry, don't bring Ron, he didn't sound in any emotional state to be able to cope with seeing her so soon, and she'll probably feel the same when she comes round'

'Okay, noted, I'll be there in a few', and with that Harry hung up, contacted St Mungo's and apparated straight to Hermione's.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**A/N Hello lovelies! Thank you to everyone that's alerted this story, I'm really thankful to you all :) Although, I still have no reviews on it yet, which saddens me a bit, so I would really love it if you could review after this please, and let me know what you think?**

**Anyway, as promised, here's chapter 3, and sorry to end it where I have, but it didn't seem right to include the next part of the story in this chapter. So as normal, enjoy and review, thank youuuu**

**Oh and I realised I forgot to put a disclaimer in it so far, so yeah, I own none of the characters or anything much really for any of this story, apart from the plot that is, but never mind eh?**

**/**

Through the dense nothingness, Hermione heard faint murmurs. She tried to concentrate on the sounds but they evaded her, so instead she attempted to focus on her other senses that she was marginally aware of.

It took all of her willpower to sharpen her foggy senses, but she was eventually aware of the feel of a scratchy material on what she presumed was her legs. 'That's funny, I don't remember wearing anything like this', she mused, vaguely becoming aware of the sounds getting clearer as her concentration levels rose. They seemed to be voices, sounding namely like Harry and Ginny, along with Arthur and Molly Weasley. As she honed in on her senses, the fog that penetrated her mind started to clear as she managed to open her eyes.

**/**

Harry was in the middle of a discussion with Mr Weasley about the purpose of facebook when he saw his best friend open her eyes.

'Hermione, thank Merlin you're okay, gave us a right scare you did!' he said, 'how are you feeling?'

'I guess I've had better days, my head feels like it's been hit by a troll's club and my mouth is ridiculously dry, but hey, I've had worse! What happened? How long have I been here and where's Ron?' she replied, taking in her surroundings and realising she was back at work –in St Mungo's.

The group shuffled uncomfortably at the previous question. Hermione gave them a questioning look when the memories came flooding back to her. 'Crap', she stated, the unfamiliar pain in her chest from the night before starting to form again.

Ginny sat on her bed and took her hand. ' 'Mione, you don't have to say anything in your defence okay, it's not your fault. Ronald is an arse and had no reason to treat you the way he did. We told him not to come here because we thought it would upset you even more, I hope that's alright.'

'Yeah Ginny, that's all fine, I just… I don't know what to do now. My whole life has turned upside down and I don't know what to do with myself and the house now that I know what's happened in our room and Merlin knows where else. I can't stay there Gin, I really can't!' Hermione said, the tears starting to form in her eyes.

'Sweetie, it's fine, come stay at Grimmauld Place with us. We'll go get all of your things when you're discharged in an hour or so'

'Thanks Gin, but I have a quick question. Why exactly am I here? Last thing I remember is kicking Ron and that slut out and then nothing…'

So Harry and Ginny explained how she found her shortly after Ron appeared at Grimmauld Place and that she had a nasty head wound that she was lucky not to have some sort of minor brain damage from, as it was just an inch from her temple.

A colleague of Hermione's came in during the explanation and gave her a pepper-up potion and told her she could leave once she filled in a few forms. She was followed by another healer who told her to take the rest of the week off to sort out her living arrangements and gather her thoughts before coming back to work, which Hermione politely agreed to, although she was seething inside; she just wanted to get back to some form of normality.

**/**

6 hours later Hermione was sitting at the large table in the kitchen of the old headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix feeling sorry for herself. The house she previously owned with Ron was now for sale and she was waiting for a phone call from the estate agent to let her know that the new flat she just purchased was fit to move into.

It wasn't as if she didn't have money, she got given a stupid amount of it after the war for her efforts, but she just didn't know what to do with herself. Ginny and Harry wanted her to stay with them for a while, but she was hearing none of it. She knew far too well from Ginny that the two of them were at it like rabbits nearly every night and wasn't looking forward to the prospect of hearing any of it!

Just as some disturbing images were threatening to slip into her mind her mobile rang and she was told she could move in straight away, as long as she picked up the keys within the next hour.

Grabbing her purse, she ran to the lounge informing Harry and Ginny of the news, and the trio set off to the muggle estate agent's office to grab the keys to her new flat. Hermione would thankfully not be experiencing anything remotely disturbing tonight.

**/**

It was about 11pm when Hermione finally deemed the house more of a home. The fridge was full of food, the cupboards contained all the necessary kitchen utensils and other household paraphernalia, and she'd already put her own personal touch in all the rooms using a simple colour-changing spell on the walls, curtains and sheets.

She'd had her friends practically beg her to let them stay the night, but she assured them she would be perfectly alright and would call them if anything was wrong. She really needed to be alone tonight.

It was the first time Hermione felt that she truly had time to collect and sort through her thoughts. She'd been so busy with moving preparations during the day that she had refused to let them settle. Now that she allowed her brain free passage to her mix of emotions, the tears came. The sobs wracked her body and she allowed the pain in her chest to engulf her.

She didn't know when she stopped crying, or when she fell asleep, but when she awoke the next morning, she knew there was only one way to sort herself out. Hermione Granger needed to get away, get so involved in a project that she couldn't even contemplate her lying cheating ex, let alone cry over him.

**/**

'I'm going away for a while. I've decided to live my life to the full and go out and do something I have always wanted to', Hermione said to a group of her closest friends a week later. There was no denying it; unless she got away from London, all she'd think about was what Ron had done to her. Even at work she couldn't concentrate and had nearly caused the death of a patient, which undeniably made her feels even worse.

The day before, she handed in her resignation to the hospital, went to a travel agent's and decided to go on a very long trip to various historical places she'd always dreamed of going, even as a child, but had never had the chance to.

'Why? You can't let my arsehole of a brother drive you out of the country. If anyone should be leaving it's him.' Ginny stated, with George nodding in agreement.

'Yes dear, you're as good as family and we refuse to let one of our own push you away. He knows what he's done and I'm sure he's sorry for it, but that doesn't solve anything, you're still always welcome at the Burrow, no matter what your situation, so please don't leave', Mrs Weasley added.

'It's not because of him', Hermione retaliated, causing all the faces in the room to give her either a pointed look or raise their eyebrows. 'Okay, maybe it is a little, but I've always wanted to go to these places, and now seems like the perfect opportunity to do so. It seems Ronald's behaviour has led to some sort of good fortune for me.'

She wouldn't let anyone convince her to stay, not for one minute. So after nearly 2 hours, her friends accepted the fact that she was leaving that evening and they said their goodbyes. She promised to owl at least one of them every week to let them know how everything was going, and with one last hug to each friend she apparated to Heathrow airport.

**/**

After putting her main luggage bag through check in –using a shrinking charm on it to enable it to be the correct weight prior to her arrival- she walked through security to the departure lounge, where she purchased a word puzzle book, some sweets to eat on the flight and of course some other books for light reading.

As soon as she heard that the gates were open for her flight, she picked up her bags, popped her earphones in, held her head high and walked swiftly to gate 80. Hermione Granger was finally taking a risk and stepping into a new, better and more exciting danger zone. Her destination: Rome, Italy.

**/**

**A/N sorry to harp on about it, buuuuuut if you review, I promise to give you a virtual homemade cupcake!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**A/N Hey guys, thank you sooooo much to those who have reviewed! As promised, have a cupcake! Also, thank you to those who have newly alerted this story, all these reviews and alerts, really motivate me to write, which is why I've already managed to write the next chapter and put it up so quickly. Anyway, as always enjoy :D**

**/**

Ron was fed up. It had been a week since 'the incident', as he liked to call it, had happened. He had been staying at the Burrow since he had been kicked out from Harry and Ginny's place, pretty much straight after being kicked out of his own house! From what he had gathered from the snippets of information his family had given him and what he'd overheard, Hermione hurt herself after fainting once he'd apparated away with Pansy and ended up in St Mungo's. Once discharged, she'd gone and put their house up for sale and was now living in some tiny flat somewhere that he wasn't allowed to know. Oh and to top it all off, she'd quit her job and had gone gallivanting to Merlin knows where for the unforeseeable future. His life with her looked bleak to say the least. He had absolutely nothing to show for the past week. His productivity levels were at an all time low, so unfortunately he was left alone with his thoughts.

The look of pain in Hermione's eyes at the end of their last conversation made Ron's heart shatter at the mere memory. He was such an idiot, and he hated himself for it, but he just couldn't help what he had done. He hadn't had sex in years, and he was growing tired of having to pleasure himself. Sure, what few sexual encounters he and Hermione had done over the years were great, but it just wasn't enough to satisfy him. So when he was left alone for the weekend just over a year ago, because Hermione went away for a girly weekend with Luna and Ginny, and he had popped out to the local pub. He had been rather drunk and more than willing to have a one night thing by 11 o'clock. It wouldn't mean anything anyway, and he'd make sure it was someone neither of them would ever have to see again. So in his drunken state, he'd slept with a seemingly unattractive girl, who he thought would satisfy his hunger for the night.

Obviously he'd been more than surprised the next morning when he realised that she was actually Pansy Parkinson, the one girl Hermione hugely disliked from school, who actually turned out to be a little minx in bed.

The two had conversed a little the morning after and agreed to be on civil terms with each other and not mention what had happened that night, and met up casually over the next few weeks. Eventually, Ron couldn't take it any longer, knowing he could get a quick fuck here and there if he felt the need to, so one day he gave in to his urges and the affair began to take hold on a more serious level.

Over the months that followed, quick sex soon lead to feelings, and with those feelings came pressure; pressure to leave Hermione, and he truly believed he was going to. That was until she had caught them in Pansy's favourite position that fateful afternoon.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he made a pact with himself. He would do all it took to win his Hermione back. Without her he was nothing, and he would wait for her to be ready, no matter what the cost.

Of course, that was when Pansy decided to apparate directly into his room, wearing nothing but a red sequined bra and matching thong underneath a black see-through dressing gown. He cursed himself for not changing the wards on his room to not allow her to apparate in anymore.

Casting locking and silencing charms on his door he turned to her.

'What the fuck do you want you stupid, pug-faced bitch?'

'Baby, don't be like this, you know you want me more than her. I can make it all go away. Just give in to me, and I'll make you forget every little emotion apart from lust', she replied, eyes full of her own lust as she started rubbing through his jeans, causing the familiar bulge to appear.

When Ron tried to smack her hand away, she grabbed his and slipped it in her dressing gown, and up to her bra, down her body to the miniscule bit of fabric that covered her lower half, which was now moist for him.

Ron tried to control his urges, but failed miserably. He expertly grabbed her round the waist, took off what little clothing she had on, as she did the same to him and swiftly entered her. Shortly after he remembered the pact he'd made with himself about getting Hermione back no matter what the cost.

'Shit', he said, quickly exiting Pansy and leaving her shocked on the bed.

'What the fuck Ron?' she shouted.

'Just leave me alone Pansy, don't you ever do anything like that t me again. I don't love you, Merlin I don't even like you! I need Hermione back without her I'm nothing, don't you understand that? What we did was stupid and immature, so just get out of my sight and don't you dare pull a stunt like that again', he replied.

Pansy looked as if she was about to cry, but held it in. lifting her head, she put her clothes back on and apparated home, leaving Ron to cry out his frustration, although not before changing the wards on his room to never allow her to enter it again.

**/**

Hermione was in her element. Being around so much history had done her the world of good, and she'd only just arrived at her hotel. The city was just full of life and beautiful architecture that she could immerse herself in, something that she knew she'd welcome once she'd had a good night's sleep.

Trudging up to her room, her shrunken case in tow, Hermione knew exactly how she'd be getting round the city. She was going to try to stay away from magic and enjoy her time here the muggle way. No apparition, no spell, no nothing, that is apart from what would be needed, such as casting another extending charm on her luggage, which she knew for a act she would be doing! But other than that, she decided magic would be used minimally.

This inner monologue of hers was rudely interrupted by her walking into a handsome tanned man, wearing a pristine black suit, with an emerald green tie and shiny black shoes.

'Sorry, sorry!' Hermione gushed, 'I didn't mean to bump into you, stupid me, I should really watch where I'm going, I'm really sorry…'

He held up a hand to stop her talking and her mouth closed immediately. 'It's fine, really. It could be worse, there's no harm done, other than maybe causing a slight crease in my suit, but that's all, honestly', he retorted, smiling at her, thinking how lucky he was to have bumped into such an attractive young lady. 'Please, let me escort you to your room, I presume you've just got here, from the looks of you?'

'Do I really look that bad?' Hermione questioned.

'Not at all, in fact you look good enough to eat my dear. It's simply that you still have your bags and appear to be wandering aimlessly towards any door that you think will match the number on your card key'

'Oh', she replied, starting to blush, 'well if you really insist I'm looking for room number 514. Do you happen to know where I can find it?'

'Room 514', he echoed, 'why of course! Funnily enough, that's next to my room, I'm in number 513, maybe we should get to know each other a bit and have dinner once we've put your bags in your room, seeing as we're going to be neighbours for the duration of our stay?'

'Sure, why not? I'm all up for meeting new people and getting to know them'

'Wonderful! So from your accent I'm guessing that you're from good old England?'

'Yes, just outside London actually. How about yourself? Your English is very good, but do I detect a slight accent there as well?'

'A slight one yes; I'm half Italian, so I come out here a lot and it brings out a slight Italian undertone', he flirted, giving her a quick wink.

Hermione simply smiled back was thankful that she had managed to find someone, let alone a handsome man, to pass the rest of the evening with.

**/**

Once Hermione's bags had been deposited in her room, the pair made their way down towards the dining area, and spent the rest of the evening getting to know each other and having debates about various topics, such as books and history.

As they walked back to their rooms, Hermione, slightly tipsy from the wine they had digested that evening so far remembered that they had forgotten to explain one crucial detail about themselves: their names. So as they reached the doors Hermione piped up.

'Before I bid you goodnight, there is one small detail I believe we both forgot to disclose'

'And what is that, my dear?'

'Our names!' she said, bursting into laughter.

'Oh yes, how rude of me! I apologise fair lady, if I had remembered, I would have told you hours ago; my name is Blaise Zabini'

And with that, Hermione's face paled. 'Blaise Zabini? As in THE Blaise Zabini, best friend of Draco Malfoy, who's a first class prat, also known to some at school as the ferret?'

'Why yes, how on earth did you know that? Do I know you?' he asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

'Yes, yes you do Blaise, it's me Hermione: Hermione Granger.'

**/**

**Sooooo what do you think? Let me know what you think in a review or something and I'll give you a whole bag of cookies... each ;)**

**Love and cuddles (and cookies if your review, hehe)**

**Chloe xxx**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**A/N. Hello! Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter! Have your bag of cookies (each!) Oh and also thanks to those who alerted this story as well!**

**Just t let you know, I've changed the direct thoughts to being in italics to make them easier to be understood as thoughts, rather than dialogue.**

** So here's chapter 5 guys, I hope you like it! Oh and I would like to quickly point out to walkingby521, the end of this chapter is for you, seeing as you asked so nicely! :D**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

**/**

'Bloody hell Granger, I didn't even recognise you. I probably should've picked up on it when we were talking earlier, but I guess I just didn't expect you to be, well, you. You're sizzling sweetheart, I don't know what you've done with yourself since school, but keep doing it!' Blaise exclaimed.

'Hold on a second, so the fact that I just told you I'm your best friend's sworn enemy, and that I'm the lowest of the low because of my non-magical heritage, has no effect on your apparent affections or this new friendship that we seem to have formed?' Hermione questioned.

'Not in the slightest. I never truly believed in that stupid blood purity shit our parents were always harping on about, and it's the same for Draco really. I'm sure he'd love to get acquainted with you again', he smiled, giving her a cheeky wink, 'but anyway, I do not think that we should let the past decide our future, so here goes nothing I guess. Hermione Granger, would you care to be my newest, smartest, most beautiful friend from this day forward?' he finished, holding his hand out to her.

Hermione couldn't control the laughter that was starting to bubble in her chest, so instead of coming out with a pleasant reply, she simply laughed in his face and pulled him into a bear hug.

'Of… course… I would… like to… be your new… friend', she gasped between giggles, trying her best to regain control over her body.

She would not be having so much to drink from then on in, she thought to herself, she wasn't too keen on the idea of numbing her senses any more than she already had, in case she did something stupid. So after a few minutes, Hermione managed to regain her composure –to an extent.

'Anyway Mr Zabini, thank you for a lovely evening, and I'm glad we can be friends after all these years. Shall I see you tomorrow morning for breakfast?'

'That would be perfect Hermione. Goodnight and sweet dreams', Blaise replied, giving her a chaste kiss on the cheek, before sauntering into his room, proud of himself for finally building a bridge between himself and someone as pleasant as Granger. Now his only potential problem would be convincing Draco to do the same.

He knew that his best friend had never believed in the blood purity nonsense they had grown up with, but he knew he was finding it hard to get rid of his bad habits that came as a result of it. Also Draco was stubborn as a mule. _Well, I shall have to see what I can do there, _he thought to himself. It was only a few days until he arrived at the Zabini Manor, so he would try his hardest to get the pair to meet.

Blaise couldn't believe how much he sounded like a matchmaker, but right then he didn't care. He wasn't interested in Hermione sexually; well, not excessively anyway, but it was obvious that Draco and Hermione had liked each other for years. When you have so many arguments with the same person, especially of the opposite sex, for so many years, there's bound to be some attraction there, so he wouldn't push his own luck with the witch.

So from that moment on Blaise decided he would get the two together. First thing first though, he needed to find out what was wrong with Hermione, as he could tell there was something. Weasley wasn't around so maybe they'd had a fight or something? But it wasn't worth dwelling on at that moment in time, Hermione was his friend now, so she'd tell him in her own time.

After finally sorting through this inner monologue of his, Blaise took off his suit, hung it up, grabbed his silk pyjama bottoms and hopped into bed, really hoping that his plan would work.

**/**

The next two days went by in a blur. Hermione's friendship with Blaise blossomed and she nearly found herself pouring her heart out to him about the Ron situation. She kept her tongue in check though, it wasn't really worth her being upset about anyway, _it's in the past now_, she thought to herself. That was until she was about to go down to dinner one evening.

She had just finished getting ready –she had to put a lot more effort in than usual otherwise she'd look like nothing in comparison to Blaise, who constantly looked glamorous. Just as she opened the door, she heard an owl tapping on the window, which she recognised as one of the Weasley owls.

Thinking it was probably Molly or Arthur checking up on her, she left the door slightly ajar so Blaise would know to come in if she was in the process of reading it. However, when she opened it she realised her mistake; she never read the writing on top to check it wasn't the person she wanted to hear from the least.

Ron had written to her. The git! How dare he write to her after all he'd done! She shouldn't have even given it her time of day, but she felt herself drawn to her now crumpled letter.

_My dearest Hermione,_

_I am so sorry for what I have done to you. It was inexcusable and is unforgivable, but I really am sorry. I feel like I driven you away to wherever on earth you are. It's lucky owls are so clever otherwise I wouldn't know how to contact you other than by text, which from what you've told me, is a rather unmeaning way to apologise for one's behaviour._

_Please come back to me darling. Pansy is out of our lives for good, and I want to explain everything to you, if you'd just hear me out. I want you back, and I want to prove my love for you is true. I don't love her, I never have or will. It's you, it's always been you._

_Please come back, I miss you more than words can express._

_My everlasting love,_

_Ron x_

The tears started falling even before she finished the first paragraph. The sobs started building, and the numbness that she had grown accustomed to over the past few days unleashed its fury and caused her to double over in pain, gasping for breath as she wrapped her arms around her chest, willing the pain to go away.

**/**

That was how Blaise found her.

She had left the door ajar so he could come in when he was ready, like they'd been doing over the course of the past few days. He walked in to find her lying on her bed, sobs wracking her body. He thought that she was having a fit or something, but as he sped round to the side of the bed to check on her properly, he noticed the crumpled piece of paper in her hand.

He quickly scanned it and cursed under his breath. Setting himself on the bed, he pulled Hermione's petite body onto his lap, whispering soft nothingness to her, stroking her hair until she managed to calm down enough that she was only hiccupping.

They stayed like that for at least half an hour before Hermione managed to choke out a simple 'I'm sorry'.

Not wanting to push her, but also not wanting to be kept I the dark about the true nature of what happened between his former classmate and Ron, he risked asking Hermione, who after a few deep breaths was able to fill him in, stopping every now and then to regain her composure once again.

'What a bastard', Blaise spat, 'I knew that weasel was trouble from the moment I met him.'

'I guess', Hermione whispered.

'Okay Granger, we're getting out of here. I refuse to have you so upset again, so we are going somewhere no-one will be able to find you, not even by owl. That is unless you want them to', Blaise said with finality, 'where are you meant to be staying for the remains of your trip?'

'I'm, I'm not entirely sure. I was literally just going to book a different hotel a few days in advance. This trip is the consequence of Ronald's actions so I'm living it day by day'

'Hmm, okay then 'Mione, it is okay if I call you that right?' she nodded, 'you my dear are going to come and stay at Zabini Manor for as long as you like. It's right here in Italy, and we shall apparate there as soon as we check out of our rooms. Oh and before you ask, I like to live life the muggle way sometimes, which is why I was here in the first place. I enjoy trying new things, so I've done this for the past few years since the Dark Lord's downfall, now that I have no-one breathing down my neck telling what I can and can't do.'

So grabbing Hermione's hand, he stood her up and quickly packed away her things with a flick of his wand. Then he left her for a few minutes to do the same to his, and carried their luggage down to reception, Hermione in tow, who was having a mental conversation with herself.

She knew this wasn't what she expected to happen, but she guessed things could have gone worse. At east she had a permanent place to stay now. It also surprised her that Blaise really enjoyed doing what she did –trying to incorporate muggle life into magical life. There was also something nagging at the back of her brain, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. Deciding she should stop her worrying and go along with things, she pulled out her ipod, put one earphone in her ear, and put on Danger Zone, hoping it would work as a kind of pick-me-up.

**/**

Once all the formalities of checking out were over, the friends walked to a nearby alley, from which they apparated to the entrance hall of Zabini Manor.

If the hall was anything to go by, Hermione would enjoy being here to no end. The walls were a simple, bright magnolia above dark wooden panels, which matched the dark wooden beams on the ceiling. It was spacious, and had a large staircase which she presumed led a multitude of different bedrooms and living rooms as well as a kitchen and games room or two, knowing a little about the male mind. It was a complete contrast to the only other manor she had ever seen, which was Malfoy Manor, with its dark unwelcoming interior.

Hermione turned around to face Blaise, her face aglow with joy. 'Thank you so much for letting me stay here! I love your house, it's so beautiful, and I can tell it's just teeming with history! I'd love a tour if that's alright with you, but you don't have to if you don't want to…' she was cut off by a throat being cleared from somewhere behind her.

She sent a puzzled look to Blaise, who was simply smiling at the person behind her.

'Well well well, who do we have here Blaise? I didn't know we were expecting company', drawled the man.

Hermione would know that voice anywhere, it had plagued her for so many years previously it would be hard to forget!

Summoning all of her gryffindor courage she turned around to face her childhood nemesis.

**/**

**Ooooh so three guesses as to who it is haha! ;)**

**If you review this time, I promise to give you brownies...**

**Love and cuddles**

**Chloe xxx**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**A/N. Hey guys, how much do you love me for getting this next chapter up eh? ;) although you should be tanking my lovely reviewers, especially skyla-lilly, who has been supportive throughout this story so far :) also thanks to my other reviewers, I love you all lots so have your brownies!**

**I'm sorry this is kind of a short chapter, it's more of a filler and then next will be up tomorrow if I get at least 4 reviews again :D (although it'll most likely be up however many reviews it gets 'cause I'm too nice haha)**

**Anyway, as normal, enjoy!**

**/**

As she turned around, despite her immediate judgement of the boy (well, man) who had been a thorn in her side for years, Hermione had to admit he did look rather fetching. _A bit too fetching_, she thought.

She always thought he'd looked too skinny for his height in school, but the man standing before her had filled out and stood at a decent 6"1, and anyone could tell he worked out to an extent by how toned his arms were alone. His signature platinum blonde hair was a little longer than she remembered, so it just flopped over his eyes, somehow having that balance between messy and sophisticated just right –which of course she was envious of. His eyes, they were the same grey orbs that had pierced her own chocolate ones whilst spurting words of menace, which threatened to bring back somewhat painful memories, although she could see them glazing over in some sort of lustrous state. She looked away before she started drooling, this man was absolutely mouth-watering. Yes; this was definitely Draco Malfoy.

**/**

Blaise watched the two with a glimmer of hope. They stared at each other for longer than necessary, taking in each other's appearances as if it were the first time they'd ever met –although to Draco, he was probably convinced it _was_ the first time he'd met this beautiful woman. Blaise was surprised at Hermione's reaction. She knew exactly who he was, and yet she couldn't take her eyes off of him. _Yes! I knew she liked him. Now I just need to see if Draco reciprocates them once he realises who she is…_

**/**

As the mystery guest turned around Draco couldn't believe his eyes. This woman was stunning. She had long brown curls that ended just below her shoulder blades that looked silky to the touch, and in her tight clothing, he could see that she had curves in all the right places. Although she had obviously been crying or having some sort of emotional breakdown before now, due to the odd left over mascara smear just below her eyes, she didn't show it in terms of her confidence at all, which was a complete turn on. Her head was held high, and he could tell she was proud –of what, he was yet to uncover. Her eyes were a chocolate brown that complimented her hair, but there was something all too familiar about them. Draco just couldn't put his finger on it.

**/**

After what seemed like an age, Blaise cleared his throat and the two remembered he was in the room and turned to him.

'Sorry mate', Draco apologised, 'I was just admiring our guest. Please excuse my rudeness young lady, my name is Draco Malfoy'

Hermione couldn't help herself, she snorted 'Oh I know exactly who you are _Draco_ but I'm guessing you have no idea who I am, despite knowing you for so long!'

'Sorry to be rude again, but what? Do I know you?'

Blaise had to stifle his laughter: an action Hermione was well aware of, which therefore caused her to spin around, give him a pointed look, and turn back to her nemesis. 'Oh I would hope so! You tried to make my life miserable for so long back in school, it's a wonder how you didn't start screaming 'there's a mudblood in the house, get her out' at the top of your lungs the minute I turned around!'

Draco was clearly still more confused than anything else, and then it clicked in his brain. 'Oh, what? Granger? Is it really you?' he questioned.

'Took you longer than I expected, but well done Malfoy, 5 points for slytherin', she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. 'Blaise, can you show me to my room now please? I'd like some time alone before the insults start flying' she quipped.

'Erm, sure 'Mione, follow me', he replied, grabbing her heaviest bag and walking so far in front of her, she had to run to catch up. 'We'll talk as soon as I'm done', he whispered to his best friend as he walked off, Hermione following close behind at double his speed.

Draco stayed where he was, glued to the spot, staring at the place Hermione was just moments before, although she was long gone by now. _Well shit_, he thought, _Hermione Granger just got to a new level of hot, and I'm going to make sure I can prove to her that I've changed. I know I've changed in terms of personality just as much as she's changed in terms of her looks, maybe even more so…_

**/**

The walk to Hermione's room was dotted with small talk, but Blaise wanted his friend to calm down and accept the fact that Draco was here. He wanted them to get along and to hang out and even try being together. He knew them both well enough that they'd be perfect for each other; his only problem was that he needed them to see that.

So Blaise put his plan into action a few minutes before they arrived at her door, chatting to her in the casual way they had been since before they had arrived at his home.

When they reached the door, he placed her bags inside, showed her the en suite bathroom, complete with a shower _and_ separate bath with a wide range of different bath and body products to choose from. He could tell from her face that Hermione had never seen a bathroom quite as nice as this, which he was glad of. He hoped she wouldn't hate him after this.

**/**

He left her in the bathroom admiring the decoration, when he shut the door and locked her in, startling her. After which she ran to the door, tried unlocking it by hand, then by magic with no prevail. _Fuck_, she thought.

'BLAISE ZABINI, LET ME OUT OF THIS ROOM THIS INSTANT!' she screamed.

'No can do sweetheart. Not until you promise me you'll be nice, if not civil to Draco. You know he's my best friend and I refuse to have the two of you bickering like children whilst you stay here, you understand?' he shouted back through the door.

Hermione sat down in a huff, 'fine', she muttered, more to herself than her friend. A few minutes passed and she'd started to cool down a bit, and repeated herself, 'fine, I'll be civil to Malfoy, but only if he's civil to me. I will not have him calling me any of the foul names he used to call me, okay?'

Blaise smiled at the door. _Yes_, _this was definitely the right thing to do to her, even if I have to face her wrath afterwards_, he thought, unlocking the door.

He was pleasantly surprised to see Hermione did not look at all bothered now that she knew the reason for being locked away, which was a relief. He flashed her one of his brilliant smiles, and apologised for his behaviour, explaining that it seemed necessary at the time.

Grabbing a nearby piece of parchment, he magically transfigured it into a handy map for her to use to get to wherever she wanted, telling her that dinner would be served in precisely 45 minutes, to dress nicely and to try not to be late. She commented saying the map was like a GPS, or some sort of muggle technology thing that told muggles where to go –as if a good old paper map wasn't good enough for them!

**/**

Once things with Hermione were settled, Blaise returned to the hallway, noticing that Draco hadn't seemed to have moved more than an inch since their last conversation. He seemed to be having some very deep thoughts indeed.

Slapping him on the back, he wandered to the kitchen with his best friend in tow, explaining why the witch had come to stay and the rules in place for him and Hermione, leaving out the true reason why she broke down, as it wasn't really is place to tell.

He told the house elves what to cook for dinner and walked with Draco into the adjoining dining room, which in turn lead to a living room that contained his favourite chair in the whole manor.

As he sat down, he decided he was looking forward to the coming few weeks. They would definitely be eventful, he was sure of that much, but as to whether a blossoming relationship would come of it? Well, that was for the couple to work out by themselves… with a small bit of encouragement from their only mutual friend, of course.

**/**

**Hope it was alright! Cookie dough ice cream for those who review ;)**

**Love and cuddles, Chloe xxx**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**A/N. Hello there! Here we go, as promised chapter 7 is up! Thank you so so much to all those who have reviewed, I got more than 4, so I really appreciate it guys! Have your cookie dough ice-cream ;) oh and also thank you to those who put this story on alert, it's really motivating when you see that people are constantly reading, reviewing and alerting.**

**Quick note about this chapter, it's really long and rather heavy on dialogue, especially towards the end, but I think that quite a few questions some of you woud like to know are being answered, and we finally get some Draco/Hermione alone time :D**

**Anyway, as always, enjoy!**

**PS. I dedicate this chapter to my friend Jade, who really helped my writing over this past day thanks to her massively long review!**

**/**

Hermione was in denial. That phrase was not one commonly used to describe Hermione Granger, but in this case it was probably the best word to use. And why was she in denial I hear you ask? Why, it was simply because she was in denial. She was in denial about one thing, and one thing only: Draco Malfoy was mouth-wateringly gorgeous and she wanted him, a lot. Boy did she want him. But obviously, because she hated his guts, she could never like such a pig-headed, snarky ferret, no matter how attractive he was, right? _Just because he's attractive does not mean that you should forget everything that git has ever done to you_, _and_ _as much as you dislike him, you know you have to be civil to him for the sake of Blaise_, she thought, adding the finishing touches to her outfit and face for dinner.

She wasn't used to dressing up very much on a day-to-day basis, so she had already performed various transfiguration charms on her dress so that it was just on that fine line of balance between formal and informal. Her make up was minimal, as she prided herself on having clear skin, and knew that if she put much more on she'd lose it. The dress she wore was a satin A-line, strapless dress in dark navy which fell just below her knees, finished off nicely with a pearl necklace around her neck. She was worried that she'd over dressed, but something at the back of her mind told her it was perfect and to stop worrying, as she was pretty sure that both Blaise and Draco would be in suits. Apparently this was customary for them, so she would go along with it for as long as she was with them.

She glanced at the clock and was amazed at how little time it took her to get ready –she didn't have to be in the dining room for another 20 minutes. Although, she was sure that she would be more than likely to get slightly lost in such a big house, she was extremely tempted to start reading her newest book –Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris. It was the fourth in the series, and although it wasn't really the type of book she would normally read, she found herself hooked after reading the first, and there were 11 books in it so far, with another due out soon.

Being the bookworm that she was however, she gave in to temptation and decided to have a quick read before heading down to dinner. So she grabbed the book, carefully sat down in the big chair in front of the fire, smoothed out her dress so it wouldn't become creased and began to read.

**/**

The boys arrived in the living room after a quick change just 2 minutes before dinner was ready. They sat down in their usual seats, which were opposite each other, and started up a conversation about quidditch whilst waiting for Hermione.

The dinner was magically served, just as it was in Hogwarts, but in a smaller quantity. It was rice with various choices of curry, and the boys, being the gentlemen they were, waited for their guest to come before they started eating. Or at least they would have if she decided to turn up. She was almost 15 minutes late before they started to worry, as they just presumed that she had got lost somewhere along

the way, and would arrive any second, apologising a ridiculous amount for such a small mistake.

So Blaise got to his feet, cast a warming charm on the food and started for the door, when Draco stopped him.

'Blaise, you should wait here and let the elves know why we're taking so long to have our food. I'll go and find Granger', Draco stated.

'Are you sure about that mate?' Blaise questioned, 'I don't want her thinking you're to harm her or anything when she sees that I'm not with you.'

'Blaise, you know full well I wouldn't hurt her. I'm not my father, I wouldn't hurt anyone, not that I would anyway, but since… since the incident, you know I could never do something like that again; plus, I really ant to get in her good graces. That girl can be downright scary sometimes, so I'd prefer to keep my head on its shoulders!'

'Okay then, be sure to explain that I'm sorting out things here and that you're not planning on doing anything to her. Also, depending on how far away you are, maybe explain to her that you've changed and why. I know she'd appreciate it, and I haven't really had an opportune moment to tell her myself. I'm guessing my natural skills of being a gentleman and my amazing wit and humour over-ruled my past, seeing as I was never truly that harsh on her in school anyway', Blaise replied with a cocky wink.

'Right, you keep telling yourself that Zabini', Draco yelled, as he walked out of the dining room.

Blaise smiled to himself, and he knew exactly why his best friend was going to find the young woman. He could read him like a book, and this was a whole new experience for Draco; he wanted to prove himself to someone that he had caused such trouble for in the past, and not just because he felt guilty for his actions, but also because he looked like he was genuinely starting to like Hermione. Although, he couldn't truly start to do so until he got to know her better, he was mainly going by what he remembered of her from their past and from what he had read in various wizarding magazines and newspapers.

Yes, Blaise knew his friend very well indeed, so he quickly went to the house elves to explain the situation, grabbed a pair of extendable ears and started after Draco.

**/**

Draco swiftly searched the various rooms that dotted the way to Hermione's room, his brow furrowing in frustration as he got closer to her room, having had no luck so far.

As he reached her room he could not believe his eyes. There she was, sitting in an armchair, dressed in a gorgeous dark navy dress with her nose in a book. _Typical Granger, always got her head in a book that one_, he thought, the trademark Malfoy smirk gracing his features. Quickly realising what he was doing, he softened his expression and walked towards her, placing himself on the armchair a few metres away from Hermione's. 'Getting a bit carried away in our book are we?' he asked, startling Hermione.

'Malfoy! You scared the shit out of me! What the hell do you think you're doing in my room? Dinner isn't for at least another 10 minutes and…'

'Granger, shut up a second, if you'd care to listen to me for just a few moments, I'd let you know that you're 30 minutes late for it. That's why I am currently here in your room talking to you. Blaise would be here himself, but he has to attend to the elves and maintain the heat of the food before it goes cold'

Hermione's mouth opened to protest, but as she did so she glanced at the clock and realised he was right so closed her mouth again.

Re-opening it again she politely thanked him, then, remembering her promise to Blaise added, 'I think I may have got a bit too into my new book. I haven't been able to enjoy a good book like this in a while because of R… because of certain circumstances, so it was nice to be able to lose myself in another world for a change'

Taking an opportunity to properly talk to the girl, Draco jumped on the proverbial conversational wagon. 'That's fair enough Granger, I get what you mean about losing yourself in a book, it's a habit of my own I must admit'

This surprised Hermione, as she knew that he was always close to her in terms of marks at school, but she wouldn't put him down as a person who reads a vast amount. Evidently she was not always right about people, much to her own annoyance. But despite this she thought to hell with it and carried on their conversation; it was nice to have one with someone who had a similar intelligence level for once and she did promise Blaise she'd try to get along with Draco. 'Really? It's always nice to know when someone else shares the same interests as you', she smiled.

He felt his heart beat faster and his own lips pull up to smile back in response to her radiant one. 'That is something I have no choice but to agree with!' He knew this would be as good a chance as any to tell the witch about himself, so he took a deep breath before saying: 'Hermione, would you allow me to explain to you how I've changed since the war please? I'd really like it if we could get on without snapping at each other, and you're one person I would honestly like to make things up to. You also know that Blaise is a good friend of mine, so I know he'd really like us to have some sort of friendship as well.'

Hermione stiffened at his abrupt change of tone. She absorbed this information and understood its logicality, so she nodded her acceptance and encouraged him to continue.

'First off you should know that whatever I said to you in school, I'm sorry for it. Obviously, Blaise and I were both brought up in the pureblood world, where children are taught since birth that we are superior to those who are not pure blooded. The reasoning for such is that the magic in our blood has not been diluted through breeding with those who are supposedly below us. My father, as you well know, was more outspoken than a lot of pureblood families, who simply tend to ignore those they believed to be inferior. Lucius on the other hand preferred to get a rise from people about it, which is why I was so open about these beliefs; however, just because I went around regurgitating the words of my father does not mean that I always believed them. Yes, I will admit I did until I was about 14. At that age I started to pay more attention to the people around me, and not just the purebloods, but half bloods and muggle-borns alike. It frustrated me that you were always better than me at everything except flying, and I couldn't understand why, which caused me to really try and see things differently. The same applies for Blaise; we were in it together because the closest we had to brothers was each other. Since then I've realised that there is no difference between me and the next person at all. So what not everyone is pure-blooded? So in 5th year, although I was still being a prat, I had mostly changed my views on those I previously thought as inferior.

'During the war was when I truly changed though. I was made to do terrible things, things that I wish I could change, but I can't. I saw the blood of people who were not pure-blooded and it was exactly the same as mine, you brought that to home especially when you were at the Manor, although we won't talk about that right now.

'Since Potter defeated the Dark Lord and my father was put into Azkaban I've taken over the running of Malfoy Enterprises and have made significant changes there, which I hope you've read about in the news. We now pay at a much better rate and treat all employees as equals; we even have part of the company that is solely focused on muggles. I know I have a long way to go, but I am honestly trying my best to restore the family name, but not for the same reasons, and certainly not using the same methods.

'So basically, what I'm trying to say is that I honestly have changed Hermione, and I really hope that you can accept that, so we can form some sort of friendship we never had in school because of my foolish, self-absorbed, narrow-minded ways.'

Hermione was stunned into silence at his thorough explanation. Draco swore he could hear the cogs turning in that brain of hers, though he didn't dare to speak until he got some sort of reaction from her.

Finally, Hermione managed to speak the words she'd been carefully picking, 'Draco, I don't know what to say. All these years, I never understood your life or the life of any pureblood wizard. Sure I read about them, but my only experiences with pureblood families are either very positive or very negative. I wish I had given you the chance to explain yourself sooner, but I can't change the past any more than you can. So how about a truce? We shall have a clean state and we'll act as if we had never met each other before Blaise came along. Oh and I won't call you Malfoy, if you don't call me Granger. Does that sound good to you?'

'Yes Hermione, it sounds perfect', and with that, he stood up and stuck his hand out to her. 'Hello there young lady, my name is Draco Malfoy. I must say you're looking extremely beautiful this evening, so it's an absolute pleasure to meet you'

Giggling like a little girl, Hermione pulled herself up and shook Draco's hand, 'Mr Malfoy, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, and I must say you look rather dashing yourself. My name is Hermione Granger, but I have come to believe we are rather late for dinner'

'Oh yes, I see Miss Granger! I believe we are running slightly behind schedule, would you care to accompany me to the dining room?' he asked, offering his arm to her.

She obliged and placed her arm in the crook of his elbow, and the pair walked together, arms linked, to meet Blaise and eat their long awaited meal.

**/**

As soon as he heard Hermione ask Draco if it was alright to start again, Blaise stealthily snuck back to the dining room, placing the extendable ears back in their usual spot.

He didn't have to wait too long before he heard the pair. They were laughing and chatting as if they had been friends for years, rather than enemies for most of their lives. He arched his eyebrows as they entered, arms linked, and simply blinked as Draco pulled out Hermione's chair, which was at the head of the table, next to both men. He didn't ask any questions about what was going on, as he knew most of the story anyway, plus he'd be given a condensed version of events from both of them at some point. Therefore, Blaise enquired into Hermione's whereabouts prior to dinner, from which conversation flowed as the three friends started their much needed dinner.

As the evening drew to a close, three courses (not including seconds) and 4 hours later and the clock chimed midnight, the group concluded that they should probably all turn in for the night.

Hermione still wasn't sure exactly how to get to her room, so Draco and Blaise accompanied her to her room. As Blaise and Hermione already had a sort of goodnight routine, he kissed her hand and gave her a hug before leaving his two friends alone to say their own goodnights, almost glowing with satisfaction that his subtle encouragement was paying off.

'Thank you or tonight Hermione', Draco said, 'I'm glad I got the chance to prove myself to you, and I hope that our friendship can only grow over the course of the coming weeks'

Hermione simply smiled at him and replied, 'you're very welcome Draco. I really enjoyed myself this evening. Maybe the three of us can do some sight-seeing tomorrow or something? Blaise and I never got to see all the sights of Rome before we left you see…'

'Yes of course, I haven't been sight-seeing here for a while, it sounds nice and I'll be sure to mention it to Blaise on the way to my room'

'That's cool, thanks Draco' Hermione smiled.

The two stood awkwardly at Hermione's door for a short time looking at seemingly nothing, before making eye contact and bursting into nervous laughter. Before he knew what he was doing, Draco leaned down to Hermione and placed an innocent kiss on her cheek. Hermione almost jumped it was such a surprise, and just as Draco opened his mouth to start gushing excuses and apologies, Hermione placed her hand over his mouth, kissed him on the cheek, said a simple goodnight and walked into her room, shutting her door behind him.

_These next few weeks_, Draco thought as he merrily walked back to his room,_ will be a very interesting few weeks indeed._

**/**

**__Sooo what do you think? Review and let me know if the hours it took me to write and rewrite this chapter were worth it and I'll give you a bag full of goodies ;)**

**Love and cupcakes, Chloe xxx**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**A/N. Hey guys, thank you so so much for the reviews on the last chapter! You reviewers may have your bag of goodies each ;)**

**Anyway, have another chapter. It's another long one, I just couldn't stop writing! So anyway, enjoy! :D**

**/**

The next morning, Hermione awoke to the sound of soft knocking on her door. Generally, she prided herself on being a morning person, but this morning she simply did not want to be roused. Her bed had to be the most comfy she had ever slept in, so she decided to be childish and hide under the covers and pretend to be asleep just before the door opened. Her relentless hiding did not prevail however, as her pursuers thought of the most childish thing to do in response: they pulled the covers off of her and laughed their heads off at her reaction. This happened to be curling up in a very tight ball and covering her face with her hands.

'Rise and shine sleepy head, time to get up! It's 8 o'clock and we have a busy, busy day of sight-seeing to do' Blaise beamed.

'Piss off, I don't care if we're meant to go and meet the queen, this bed is the most comfy bed I have ever had the fortune to sleep in', Hermione retorted, reaching to get the covers and wrap them around herself again.

'Granger, if you don't get up this instant the two of us will tickle you until you cry out for mercy', Draco added.

Hermione took her hands away from her face glared at them, 'You wouldn't dare', she said to them. They raised their eyebrows and glanced at each other, as if to say they would and they could.

Hermione got the message and was up off the bed and running towards the en-suite bathroom before you could utter the word 'Merlin', leaving the boys goggling after her as they realised how little she wore to bed. It consisted of a light purple nightdress that ended mid-thigh. A fact Hermione herself only realised once she was safely in the shower, washing her hair. She tried to think nothing of it and decided to think of the day ahead: she still hadn't seen the colosseum, so she was definitely going to have to get the boys to take her there as it was simply teeming with history, and she couldn't wait to tell them about it!

With a quick glance to check that her room was empty she got ready for the day. She wore a simple white t-shirt and tan shorts that showed off her newly shaved, tanned legs, which she moisturised thoroughly. She slipped on sensible walking shoes, put her hair up in a ponytail, grabbed her map of the house and followed it to the dining room, where a breakfast treat was laid out for her. It consisted of toast, scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, croissants, cereals and a variety of different spreads. Noticing her presence, Draco jumped out of his seat and pulled Hermione's out for her. Smiling at him in thanks, she sat down and the group ate in a contented silence until they were all full.

'So… where are we off to this morning then?' Hermione asked.

'Well', Blaise started, 'seeing as we've yet to go there yet, I was thinking maybe we could visit the colosseum first, seeing as when we met it was one of the places you said you really wanted to see.'

Hermione's face lit up at the prospect, 'Yes please! I'd absolutely love to!' she squealed.

Both Blaise and Draco found her enthusiasm adorable, so they promptly cleared away their mess, called the house elves to take everything else away, brushed their teeth and met in the hallway 10 minutes later.

Draco and Hermione each grabbed one of Blaise's arms and the friends apparated away to the colosseum.

**/**

As they approached the landmark Hermione's eyes glazed over in awe as she started gushing facts about it. 'The colosseum is an amphitheatre. It was developed as an improvement for the Circus Maximus and was used for gladiatorial combats, wild beast fights and mock naval battles. It is thought to be called the colosseum because the medieval historian Bede named it so, potentially because the amphitheatre stood next to a colossal statue of Nero, although this idea has been disputed…'

'Okay sweetie, I think we get the picture that it's amazing,' Blaise joked, earning himself a pointed glare in response.

'What I think our friend is trying to tell us is that he appreciates your knowledge, but he's not as intelligent as us, so cannot process the amount of facts you are so kindly spurting to us', Draco stated, which amusingly earned him smile, much to his pleasure. Man, he really was getting too emotionally involved with her already.

Despite the minor tiff the friends had and the clouds that loomed over them that day, the group spent a good few hours exploring the colosseum and even got a tour with one of the locals, who the boys tipped graciously for entertaining Hermione for so long, who relished the opportunity to ask an infinite number of questions. Soon however, they became rather tired, so decided to stop off at a nearby restaurant and had lunch, where they discussed what they would be doing that afternoon.

'How about we go to the Trevi fountain?' Hermione questioned.

'You know what, I haven't actually been there. Blaise here never found an interest in going to it in all these years', Draco stated.

'Yes mate, because I don't like the sound of going to some stupid fountain, where if you flip a coin into it to you'll return to the city. Considering the fact that I live close and come here pretty much every year as it is, I don't feel the need' Blaise said in a matter-of-fact tone.

His companions snuck a glace at one another. 'Well I certainly plan on going, even if I go alone', Hermione grumbled earning herself an elbow in the ribs from Blaise.

'Don't be like that 'Mione, I'm sorry, but I just don't want to go… Draco, I plan on swinging by our local bar, fancy joining me or would you rather go see the fountain with our lovely Hermione?'

Draco felt rather pressured. His immediate reaction was to go with Hermione, but then he thought he may sound too eager if he said that. Alternatively, if he went to the bar with Blaise, he may be able to pick up a woman and have night of pleasure… _Focus Draco!_ He said to himself, _for the past few years you've been going with your gut feeling, and you're not the slytherin sex god you were in school anymore, although granted you're still amazing in bed. But still, you don't have that reputation to live up to now, so go with Hermione, and get in her good books. Would you rather have a potential relationship with someone like her or a quick fuck with some random woman?_

'I'll go with 'Mione if that's alright with you mate. I'm sure the two of us will swing by later. Seeing how you've deprived me of such a historical place, I really have no choice but to go' he said, giving Hermione a genuine smile.

'Alright then, but just to warn you, I may have some gorgeous Italian woman on my lap by the time you two arrive, so feel free to go back to the manor and have a swim or something. Y'know, just relax until the house elves call you for dinner' Blaise replied.

So with the activities of the afternoon sorted, and the sun finally shining, the friends parted ways, with Draco and Hermione going off to the fountain, leaving Blaise to go to the pub, thinking how quickly the two were bonding. He knew that Draco would go with 'Mione the minute he gave him the choice, although he could see the conflict of emotions his best friend was going through in his face. He wouldn't be surprised if something hadn't happened between them by the morning, so with a hopeful heart, he wandered off to find himself a new bedroom partner for the evening.

**/**

Draco and Hermione decided to apparate straight back to the manor after their trip to the Trevi fountain. It had been a great afternoon. Although the fountain was ridiculously busy, they had still managed to get a tour-guide to give them an in depth talk about its history, and Hermione had even managed to get Draco to stand with his back to it and throw a coin in it so that he could visit again –which in his mind he had no doubt of, but he willingly obliged to please her. He then forced Hermione to do the same, but she was planning to anyway, and said so quite frankly when he brought it up! After this the two went and got an ice cream from a nearby ice cream shop, where they had three scoops each with varying flavours. Hermione had melon, strawberry and pistachio, which Draco thought sounded disgusting, but under further inspection he found to be rather delicious. He had a typical chocolate, caramel and vanilla, much to Hermione's distaste. They then wandered around the city for an hour or so, taking in their surroundings and buying various items of clothing or gifts before they'd decided to return to their current home.

So here they were, sitting in the lounge that adjoined to the dining room, with 2 hours to spare before dinner. They each sat, lost in thought, until Hermione remembered something Blaise had said to them before they had separated. 'Draco?' she timidly asked.

'Yes 'Mione?'

'Was I right when I heard Blaise say earlier that there was somewhere to go swimming in this house?'

'Yes, you were. Why do you ask? Would you like to go for a swim before dinner?' Draco asked, causing Hermione to blush slightly at her own ignorance of the fact that a large Italian mansion would obviously have a pool of some sort.

'Well, yes, I would please, and I'd be awfully grateful if you would join me. That is if you don't mind of course, seeing as I don't completely trust that map Blaise gave me', she quickly added.

Draco simply smiled at her, told her to go get her swimming things and to meet him in the hallway in 15 minutes. She happily obliged, and almost ran to her room, quickly put on her newest bikini, which was black with silver detail, pulled on one of her sun dresses and skipped back to the hallway.

She didn't have a long wait; Draco arrived just minutes after she had. He had on a green shirt and black shorts, which she presumed doubled up as swimming trunks.

The walk to the pool wasn't nearly as long as Hermione expected, so they were there in about 3 minutes. The pool looked fabulous. It was about 20 metres long, and was accompanied by a jacuzzi on one end and a shallow pool that looked suitable for children at the other, which she presumed the boys had used when they were younger. The walls were a sparkling white, and the floor tiles had the perfect balance between too slippery and too rough to walk on, and were a complimentary blue. The windows in the room were huge; they weren't so large that any passerby could look in, plus they were facing the grounds behind the manor, so it would be a surprise to anyone to see someone walking past.

'Wow', she breathed.

'Yeah I know, it has that effect on you the first time you see it. Anyway, I'm gonna get in the water, feel free to join me if you want, but I'll be doing lengths for a while if that's okay with you', Draco replied. He got a nod in reply, which he supposed was all he was going to get out of her in her current state of awe, so he took off his shirt, dived in and started off on his usual 800 metres front crawl.

If Hermione thought the sight of the pool was one to behold, then seeing Draco Malfoy almost naked was another thing entirely. His chest was perfectly sculpted; even a blind man could see it, which answered her question the previous day of whether or not he worked out. It was probably from all the quidditch he used to play in school, but from watching him in the water she presumed that he also swam a lot too. His stroke looked almost too perfect, and it was mesmerising.

Not knowing what else to do, she took off her dress and perched on the edge of the pool, her legs dangling in the water as she watched him swim back and forth. She eventually lost count of the lengths he did, but it was evident he knew how many he was doing! So she simply watched and went over the day's events in her mind, selecting what to tell the Weasleys in her next letter.

Eventually, he came to a stop and came to tread water just in front of where Hermione was sitting. He drank in her exceptional body that had him hot under the collar the night before and was thankful for his swimwear being loose; otherwise he may have had trouble hiding how much he appreciated her looks at that moment. She looked completely lost in thought and he didn't really want to disturb her too much (he knew better than to forcibly bring her out of her thoughts) so he gently splashed the tops of her legs. Quickly growing frustrated at her lack of reply to his splashing he dove under the water, grabbed her calves and pulled her in, causing her to scream various profanities at him that he never would have thought she'd known!

After about a minute of her continued swearing, he pressed his hand gently over her mouth, as she had done to him the night before. 'Look, 'Mione, I'm sorry I scared you. I wasn't trying to hurt you, but you really need to stop thinking sometimes. You just need to let go and relax. Like now for instance, just let the water take you', and with that he grabbed her hand and gently swam down to the shallow end with her. 'See, that wasn't so bad, was it? Just try and relax and let your body do what it wants in the water.'

'Yeah I guess. I'm sorry I was being rude and thinking so much. It's just something I do I guess…' she said, ducking her head slightly to hide her blush.

Draco caught her chin in his fingers and tilted her head up so that he could look her in the eyes. ''Mione, it's fine, really. Like I said before, just relax and let your body do what it wants…' Draco repeated, not once taking his eyes from hers. She was so beautiful; the light from the windows was shining in and reflecting off of the pool onto her face, making it glow with sunlight.

He felt her breath quickening and she felt his do the same. Without saying a word, they slowly leaned in to one another until finally, in the fading afternoon sun, their lips met.

**/**

**Okay I would really love reviews for this one. Is it going too fast for your liking? Is Draco too nice? etc etc Let me know in a review and I'll try and get the next chapter up on Monday :) plus I'll give you each a mystery gift, so what more motivation could you want? Haha**

**Love and cupcakes, Chloe xxx**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**A/N. Okay I got it up a day early, but I'm sure you don't mind ;) thank you to those who reviewed, have your mystery gift *cue dramatic music*. Haha, of course I'm not gonna say what the mystery gift is, it's a mystery so make of it what you want!**

**Anyway, I have the next chapter half written, so once I get a review (and once I finish it which'll be sometime this evening) I'll put it up. I know for a fact you'll like it my avid readers! I'm far too excited about it already!**

**I'm sorry it's so short, that's why I started writing the next one... So yeah, enjoy!**

**/**

Enough was enough. Ron felt completely isolated in the home he had grown up in and he'd had enough of it. And on top of that, he'd had Pansy sending him love letters and gifts every day, which he believed he'd finally managed to deter by finding a repellent charm in one of his old charms books.

Over the past day, he had formulated a plan that would get him out of the house and back to his mission of recovering his girlfriend. He still wasn't entirely sure as to exactly where she was at that point in time, but he knew that she was in Italy somewhere; which was a start. Now he just needed to grab one of her letters and find out exactly where she was staying so he could surprise her by telling her how much she truly meant to him. By this he meant he was finally going to ask her to marry him. Although she still had yet to reply to his letter, he honestly thought she'd come crying back to him, apologising for her lack of sexual commitment, therefore allowing him to ravish her all he wanted. But so far, there had been no such luck.

Finally deciding that now was the time; he stepped out of his room and started down the stairs towards the kitchen, nodding to George to indicate a 'hello' as they passed on the stairs, the action managing to distract George from seeing Ron pick up Hermione's most recent letter off of a table on the landing. As he reached the back door, Mrs Weasley caught him. 'Ronald, where do you think you're going in such a hurry?' she questioned, giving her youngest son a hard look.

'No, nowhere Mum', he stuttered, he hadn't planned on getting interrogated, 'I was just off out, y'know to go find myself something to do, seeing as I've taken so much time off of work…'

'And exactly what were you planning to do?' Molly persisted.

'Look Mum just leave me alone! I'm not a child anymore, I can do what the hell I want and you can't tell me otherwise!' Ron shouted.

'Whilst you're living under my roof you will obey my rules, and you should watch your tongue young man! I am your mother and deserve to be respected; you will not treat a lovely girl such as Hermione in such a dreadful manner and think you'll get away with it whilst living in this house!' Molly countered.

Ron's face went red as a tomato with rage as he stormed out of the door, slamming it behind him and running to the apparition point before any of his siblings could get him. His destination was wherever Hermione had sent her letter from: Rome.

**/**

Hermione was surprised as her lips met Draco's for the first time. The kiss was innocent and left her feeling an overwhelming sense of happiness, which sadly started to fade as they broke apart.

The two stared at each other for a short time, and before either could register, their lips were connected once more. This time however, it was less innocent and more passionate. Hermione's hands slid up his chest and round his neck as Draco's own hands and arms circled her waist, pulling her closer to him. Soon he was leaning against her with her back against the wall of the pool, his growing hardness probing Hermione's abdomen. This was enough to pull her out of their passion and suddenly break the kiss, pushing against Draco with all her might to get his erection as far from her as possible. It caused the memory that was burned into her brain of Ron and his mistress to flash into her mind, sending her into an emotional wave of confusion, hurt and the need to get as far away as possible.

Draco couldn't understand what was happening. One minute they were locked in each other's embrace and the next he was being pushed away with more force than he ever imagined a girl as petite as Hermione to have. ''Mione, what's wrong? Did I do something wrong?' he asked, slowly starting to walk towards the girl who was starting to hyperventilate and cowering away from him.

Hermione just shook her head in response: she didn't want to talk about it. She caught his eyes and the pain within them was evident. Not being accustomed to females expressing such raw emotion, Draco simply stopped what he was doing and tried to keep eye contact, pleading Hermione with his eyes to calm down and let him comfort her.

With the waves of emotion rolling through her, Hermione did the only thing that came to mind at that point in time. She got out of the pool swiftly, grabbed her dress and her map, thought of her room and ran to it as fast as she could, leaving Draco staring after her, a mix of worry and confusion furrowing his brow. There was only one person he knew that could help him at that moment. So he grabbed his shirt, cast a quick wandless drying spell on his clothes and apparated to the bar where he knew he'd find Blaise.

**/**

As soon as she reached her room, Hermione slammed her door shut and leaned against it, slowly sliding down it until her damp behind touched the floor. That's when the sobs started coming, and the guilt began to wash over her. She didn't understand why she was having such a bad reaction. She wasn't with Ron anymore, he had sealed his own fate with her, so she could go around kissing anyone she liked. The problem was, she still cared about him. After all the shit he put her through recently, her feelings never really changed; but what about Draco? She was obviously attracted to him on one level or another otherwise she would never had returned the kiss. Hermione simply couldn't think straight. She was shaking with emotion and it was getting chilly with the sun setting, so with tears still streaming down her face, she crawled along the floor, grabbed her wand, cast a drying spell and got into bed, where over the next 10 minutes she cried herself into a dreamless sleep.

**/**

When Draco arrived outside the usual bar he went to with Blaise, he stepped inside and headed for the furthermost corner of the building where he knew his best friend would be. He refused to get distracted by anyone or anything on his way; he'd even caused a bit of a fuss by glaring at a woman who had pretty much thrown herself at him, who took offence at his lack of reaction. But Draco carried on tirelessly, determined on finding out what the hell was wrong with Hermione: he was ridiculously worried about her.

Blaise saw Draco coming from the corner of his eye, but continued to flirt with the gorgeous woman he had had the fortune to run into that evening, of which he was sure would give in to his charms. His plan was soon disrupted by his best friend slamming his fist on the table and demanding to know why Hermione was kissing him one minute and running away from him the next for seemingly no reason.

'Look mate, I don't think it's my place to tell you really. 'Mione told me in confidence and I don't plan to betray that confidence by telling you. I'm sure when she calms down she'll inform you of everything.' Blaise said.

'Blaise, seriously, give me some sort of hint. I really like her and I don't want to say anything that will upset her any further, and I can't do that when I don't know what I've done!' Draco replied, his voice starting to rise in volume.

'Draco, listen, I can't tell you! Do you know what she's doing now?'

'No… she ran off to her room I guess, at least that was the direction she seemed to be heading. Just give me a clue as to why she's upset: a name, a place, just something. You know I can't stand not knowing things'

'Alright, alright; it's something to do with the Weasel, but that is all I'm saying. Right now I suggest you get your fine arse back to my place, grab a box of tissues along with some food, and then go check on her. Hopefully she will have calmed down by the time you get back and do those things', Blaise suggested.

'And what are you gonna do? Just stay here until your libido gets the best of you and you come home with some woman that me and 'Mione get to meet in passing at breakfast?' Draco hissed.

'Erm, pretty much, yeah. Trust me, 'Mione will be fine. All you need to do is calm her down, give her lots of cuddles and sympathy, and then pester her a little until she finally spills. That's how I got to find out, and that's how she came to stay with us. So go to her, she needs you man'

Without having to be told twice, Draco left his friend to his business and went straight back to Zabini Manor to look after Hermione. He was sure she needed him, and he was going to make sure that she knew it. He could feel their connection as soon as he set eyes on her just the day before… wow, it really hadn't been that long since they'd put their differences aside and decided to cohabitate for the sake of Blaise. This goes to show that if anyone could restore Hermione to her former self, it was Draco Malfoy.

**/**

**As I said before, once I get a review on this one I'll put up the next chapter :D**

**Love and cupcakes, Chloe xxx**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

**A/N. As promised, here's the next chapter. Thank you to those who reviewed so quickly, have some left over cookies from what I made with my sister ;)**

**WARNING! This chapter contains fluff! So yeah, I guess it's what you've all been waiting for, but I tell you this now: it's nowhere near the end yet! Just wait for the next chapter ;)**

**Enjoy!**

**/**

It took Draco far less time to collect what Blaise had told him to than he had initially planned. Luckily, the house elves had just finished preparing the starter for that evening's dinner, so he spooned the hot soup into a bowl, popped it on a tray with a spoon, some bread and a glass of water. He then proceeded to carefully make his way to Hermione's room.

He tentatively knocked on the door, and when he received a muffled reply, he quietly opened the door and stepped inside, deciding to hold the tray the muggle way rather than levitate it, as it seemed like a nicer gesture that way.

'Hey 'Mione, I brought you some soup. I thought you might be getting hungry after all that emotion earlier you see…' Draco started quietly, 'and before you say anything please hear me out. I'm sorry if I upset you in any way by kissing you. I thought it was what you wanted; I know I certainly wanted it, so please excuse my behaviour if I misunderstood the signals.'

Hermione snuck a glance at him from under her covers. She was having a peaceful sleep when she heard the knocking and wanted to just go back to sleep and not have to wake up until everything went away. Unfortunately, being the down-to-earth person she was, she admitted the intruder's entrance, and hearing who it was she wanted to burst into tears again. That was until he spoke to her. He thought it was his fault for her outburst of emotion! It wasn't really, not entirely, it was stupid Ron's fault; him and that stupid pug-faced bitch.

Hermione finally used some of her gryffindor courage and sat up in bed: Draco's gesture was far too nice to ignore. She thought he must really care about her well-being, and a weak smile graced her features.

Draco was glad she had calmed down, but he was planning on her to still be upset and need comfort, as he had no idea how to bring up her reason for running away from him. But being the blunt person he was, he decided to dive in at the deep end once he had safely placed her soup on the coffee table between the two chairs in front of the fire.

'Look 'Mione, I don't want to push you or anything, but I'd really like to know why you ran away from me earlier. I can see from your eyes that it's not because of me, not entirely anyway. I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong. This isn't the Hermione Granger I knew in school, the girl who could match my insults on every level imaginable. Please don't keep it all inside, I want to be here for you, just let me in' Draco gushed. _So much for playing it cool_, he thought to himself.

Conflicted would be the best word to use for Hermione's expression. She had to decide there and then whether or not she could trust her new friend with something as big as Ron's betrayal. It took her a long few moments of weighing up the pros and cons for each choice she had. On one hand she could just tell him and get it over with; a problem shared is a problem halved, right? On the other hand, he was Draco Malfoy and although she trusted him, she wasn't sure exactly where they stood at that moment in time. If she later decided she wanted a relationship with him, she may put him off by telling him about her lack of trust in men and how unlikely she was to sleep with him.

Finally, her trusting side beat her worries and she decided to inform Draco of the circumstance she currently found herself in.

Draco wasn't entirely sure how to publicly react to the news. His first reaction was to kill the Weasel, then go after Parkinson and make her life hell for not only hurting Hermione, but also because he still had a slight grudge against her for all the times she threw herself at him whilst they were at school. Sure, he had slept with her once, but it was a drunken thing, it was never meant to be anything more.

It took all of Hermione's willpower not to sink back into her depressive state again, and Draco could see it was taking a toll on her, so as soon as she finished telling her story, he quickly slipped his shoes off, climbed into bed with her and held her while she cried in his arms, all the time, he whispered sweet words in her ear, which helped her calm down after another 10 minutes of crying.

Simply being held by Draco made it easier for Hermione to let go, and he didn't seem at all repulsed by her, he seemed more angry at Ron and Pansy, which was a relief. She breathed in his scent and cuddled closer to him, which after her most recent crying fit was more than welcoming. So the two just stayed entwined, each lost in their own thoughts.

Hermione was the first to break the comfortable silence, 'I'm sorry for running away from you like that. I just didn't know how to react when I felt your… arousal on me… it just brought back those memories. But I want you to know that I had no problem at all with you kissing me. It was really much actually', she said shyly.

Draco beamed at her, 'Hermione… I really enjoyed kissing you too' he replied, tilting her face to the side so that she was looking him in the eyes again. 'It was magical, it just seemed so right, and I'm sorry if you think I'm being too full on, but I'm a full on kind of guy who will say it as it is.'

Hermione just looked at him as she said, 'so shall we continue where we left off then…?'

His eyes glazed over with excitement as he pulled her closer to him and kissed her full on the mouth, one hand trailing down her body and the other cupping the back of her head in her soft mane of hair. It was funny; he never even noticed that she was still in her swimwear from earlier on until that point. He breathed in her scent and couldn't believe his luck at being in his current situation; he could finally relax and let Hermione know what she meant to him.

Hermione was in bliss; she had to admit that Draco was right. There was some sort of connection between them, and at that moment in time it was electric. Her body was positively tingling in anticipation, and something just clicked in her brain: this was it. This was what she had been waiting for, that perfect moment with the person you care about most at that point in time. No planning had gone into it, no romantic meal, no new lingerie, no nothing. Right now, at that moment in time, she wanted Draco Malfoy; she wanted him in every way physically possible.

When they pulled apart for air, Hermione whispered to him 'do you trust me?' She got a nod in response and, much to Draco's dismay, exited the bed. She made eye contact with him and slowly undid her bikini top, allowing it to fall away to reveal her breasts to him. His eyes glazed over in lust and he swiftly jumped out of bed and circled his arms round her again, kissing her and guiding her back to the bed.

He laid her down and kissed down her neck, along her collarbone and down to her exposed breasts, where he gently kissed and sucked them which made her moan. Deciding she wanted to get straight to the action, she stroked his hair and brought his face up to look at hers. Without saying a word she pulled off his shirt and caressed his bare chest –it was better than she remembered and the last time had only been an hour or so ago! She then proceeded to stand up off of the bed again and motioned him to follow her, and Draco did as he was told. He wasn't going to push her as he knew she was still a virgin, so he'd go at her pace, and if she decided they weren't going to do it, he would wait.

Biting her lip, Hermione wasn't sure what to do next; she had wanted to take off his shorts and get straight to it before, but now she was having doubts… _come on Hermione, snap out of it! You want to do this so suck it up and do it, remember what your mother always told you about your first time: it has to feel right._ This, right now, felt right.

Swallowing her fear she kissed him softly and pulled down his trousers, allowing his erection to spring free. Following her lead, Draco tentatively stroked down her body and stopped at her bikini bottoms, waiting for a signal that said yes. In response she put her hands on top of his, pushed them down and stepped out of the offending garment, letting out a whine when Draco broke the kiss to look at her in her entirety. He was impressed by what he saw. Although he'd seen most of it before, it amazed him just how perfect her body was.

She watched him take her in and slowly walked backwards, sat down on the bed and raised her eyebrows. He gently pushed her back into the middle of the bed and hovered above her. 'Do you really want to do this right now?' he asked.

'Yes, I'm sure. This feels right Draco, and my gut is saying to go for it, and I trust my gut feelings' Hermione said, 'please do this for me', she added breathlessly, silently casting a contraceptive charm on herself.

Trusting her judgement, he slowly entered her. She gripped his arms as she felt the sharp pain inside her, but relaxed as she got more accustomed to his size and the pain slowly ebbed away. Once she looked him in the eyes and nodded at him as if to say 'ready', he gently and slowly thrusted. She was so tight and it felt so good on him, but he was determined to stay slow, so as not to cause her anymore pain. She was moving her hips in synchronisation, and she soon started to pick up the pace. Draco was determined to make her climax the first time, so he tried hard not to allow himself to come too early for her.

'Draco, faster, please', Hermione whimpered, and he sped up. By this time he was gritting his teeth and was finding it harder to hold on, but he felt her start to tense inside, so with one final thrust, he made her come, and then rode out his own orgasm in time with hers, collapsing on top of her.

Once they had caught their breath, Draco pulled out of her and rolled onto his said, facing her. Hermione panted, 'that was amazing Draco. Thank you so much' and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.

'I'm glad you enjoyed it lovely, I just wanted to make it special for you'

'You did, I promise; although I'm absolutely knackered now!'

'Yeah I guess if you're not used to it, sex can take a toll on you. Want me to go so you can sleep, or would you rather I stayed here?' Draco asked, hoping to Merlin he'd ask her to stay.

'I'd prefer it if you stayed here please. I feel more comfortable that way' Hermione replied, blushing.

'Okay baby, I'll stay right here. You just close your eyes and I'll meet you in dream land'

'Goodnight Draco, and thank you' Hermione whispered, cuddling him closer, and soon enough they had both fallen asleep in each others arms.

**/**

**So there we have it people! I'm sorry if you think my attempt at the lemon was bad, but I rewrote it a few times, so it's better than it initially was :)**

**Drop me a review or a pm on what you thought and I'll give you 2 bags of haribo each, yeah?**

**Love and cupcakes, Chloe xxx**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**A/N. Guess who's back! I'm so so sorry for seemingly abandoning this story! I promise you I haven't, I've had a ridiculous case of writers block for the past few months, as well as my A Level exams, which determine whether or not I can go to uni, the results of which I get on Thursday :( also my parents were idiots and decided that in the middle of exams it would be a good idea to split up, so I've been basically running the house since my mother and 2 of my 3 sisters went, so have had like no time to write... I know it's only an excuse but I hope I can make up for it through masses of writing!**

**This I must admit is not my best chapter, it's more of a filler but gives a bit more info on a character we haven't heard much from in a few chapters, and I promise that the next chapter will be longer and generally better than this. I'll start writing it after lunch probably, so it should be up in the next few days :)**

**Anyway, enough of my rambling, here's chapter 11 :D**

**/**

The next morning, Blaise woke up to an empty bed and a ridiculous headache. He sat up and reached into the drawer next to his bed, pulling out a hangover potion. He sat for a few minutes allowing the potion to take its effect whilst he went over the events of the night before. It was the first time in years he had awoken to an empty bed after a night out; then he remembered exactly why he was alone that morning. He was far too curious for his own good!

About half an hour after Draco had left him in the bar, he had gotten rather curious as to how far 'Mione would let Draco go with her. He hoped all the way, but there was only one way to find out: go home, have a word with the elves and amuse himself until he managed to find out what happened, which is precisely what he did. So Blaise was pleasantly surprised when Pippin -his favourite house elf- came and told him that his two friends were happily sleeping in each other's arms with a distinct lack of clothing on that evening. He was so happy in fact that he celebrated by finishing off a bottle of firewhiskey he had opened the night before. _Ah now I remember why my hangover was so bad!_ He thought to himself, and presumed that Pippin had taken him to bed, seeing as he didn't seem to have a memory of doing so.

Pulling out of his revere, he hopped out of bed, put on his slippers and wandered to the kitchen to ask the house elves to start making breakfast.

**/**

As Draco started to stir he realised his bed felt strange and he had someone in his arms. He didn't have any inkling of a headache or memory of drinking, so he kept his eyes shut and sifted through his memories of the night before. They turned out to be fantastic. He could not believe his luck in being able to sleep with Hermione Granger. He knew then that his feelings for her were growing at a rate he was not able to imagine. Opening his eyes he looked down at the sleeping petite figure he was cuddling close. He kissed her hair and snuggled down to go back to sleep when she started to move.

'Good morning', she whispered to him.

'Good morning 'Mione', he replied, 'did you sleep well?'

'I slept wonderfully thanks to you', she said turning round so she could see Draco's face, 'and did you sleep well?'

He smiled at her and stated 'yes thank you, I did', his stomach then rumbled loudly enough for her to hear.

'I think someone's hungry', Hermione laughed

Draco ducked his head in mild embarrassment, which Hermione caught in her hands, moving his head up so she could look him in the eyes and kissed him lightly before jumping out of bed. She was met by a chill as she ran into the bathroom to grab a dressing gown to put on, with Draco following and putting on a matching one that had mysteriously appeared next to Hermione's. Draco suspected that Blaise had something to do with that, being the nosey bugger that he was, but didn't dwell on it as he was going to find out about them soon enough anyway. The pair had woken up during the night and ended up having a long conversation about various subjects, including what they were going to say to Blaise –they were going to avoid telling their family and other friends anything until they knew what direction their relationship was going to take. This was a topic that had been quickly covered and was followed by another round of love making.

Coming back to reality, Draco took in his witch –was he allowed to call her that? He presumed so, seeing as they had given themselves to each other last night. She looked adorable with her obvious sex hair and general, sleepy, early morning look, and gave him a questioning look when she realised he was staring at her. He simply smiled in response and gave her a chaste kiss before suggesting they get ready to go down and face the music with Blaise.

They hurriedly got dressed after showering, and made their way to breakfast in a companionable silence, neither wanting to ruin the peacefulness that surrounded them.

**/**

Ron's patience was running thin. Since he'd got to Rome, he'd found out next to nothing about where Hermione had been staying or what she was doing. Surely the wizarding community of Italy knew something about _the_ Hermione Granger, British war heroine being in their country; evidently not! He'd even visited all of the places he knew she'd want to go, such as the Trevi fountain, but there was still no sign of her. Eventually his enormous appetite got the better of him and he found a decent looking café to sit down and have some food at.

Whilst he waited for his food, Ron went over his plan in his mind again. He'd find his love, recite to her the speech he came up with which outlined his love for her and what he'd do to make it up to her, as well as give her a new history book he found in one of the muggle souvenir shops that would give her an in-depth history of the less well-known parts of the city. _That_ he thought, _that should win her back, she could never resist a good book_.

Feeling pleased with himself, he smiled at the waitress who brought him his food, before asking her whether she'd seen Hermione, showing her a picture of her in the process. He knew he was pushing his luck today, as he'd had no such luck so far, but to his surprise the woman had seen her just the day before! Although who she was with made Ron want to punch something. He was sure Hermione would never get involved with any snakes, but from the sound of things, she was with none other than Draco sodding Malfoy and some stuck up Italian prick who he presumed was Blaise Zabini, based on the description the waitress gave him, and through his bad habit of keeping on top of what the ex-slytherins were doing due to his involvement with Pansy.

Now he knew he had to find out where they were staying and why the hell his Hermione was associating with such ignorant people. Yes, they may be supposedly reformed death eaters or whatever, but Ron knew better than that. They were only out to improve their family names, nothing else, and their involvement with Hermione would definitely do that!

As much he hated to admit it, he needed to go do some grovelling if he wanted to find Zabini and Malfoy… that is if it's definitely who Hermione was with yesterday. He did start to wonder if it actually was Hermione and whether she was genuinely with Malfoy and Zabini; but thinnking back to the descriptions given, it must have been them, so he put his worries to the back of his mind. His mind made up, he decided to take the risk and scoffed his food down, thanked the waitress, gave her his number in case she heard or saw anything else and went to the nearest apparition point to go back to the UK and find someone he knew would have the exact contacts who would know how to find the men.

**/**

**Hope it wasn't too bad! Feel free to let me know what you think in a review and I'll make sure the next chapter's up shortly 3**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**A/N Hey guys, look who was good in her posting :D I'm happier with this chapter than the last one, so I hope you like it!**

**Oh and thank you to bzsilver for pointing out that I forgot to give you virtual goodies for reviewing! So have a chocolate eclair if you did so :)**

**Enjoy!**

**/**

Ginny was worried. She hadn't heard from Hermione in a while and Ron went off in a huff the other day without telling them where or why he was going. Not that it wasn't obvious or anything, but she didn't trust her brother when he was like this. She had spoken to Harry about her worries, but he'd simply shrugged them off, saying that Ron would never find Hermione; he didn't have the necessary information to do so. This however, didn't put his girlfriend's mind at rest. She knew they were missing something important, but just couldn't put her finger on it.

She re-read her most recent owl from her best friend. It said she was in Rome and said that she'd made friends with someone they had been at school with, but hadn't disclosed exactly who. This worried Ginny even more, obviously Hermione couldn't trust her enough to let her know who she was with, which hurt Ginny a bit, as she believed she was one person Hermione could come to with a secret; although, she trusted her friend and tried to take Harry's advice and not dwell on it.

The most puzzling event was Ron's disappearance though. Knowing her brother, he would be going after Hermione the second he was able to; his infatuation was currently bordering more on obsessive than actual love. There was no way Hermione would take him back now, he had hurt her too badly, surely he knew that? It was rather unlikely he'd realise in his state though. He wasn't always the sharpest tool in the box it had to be admitted. Unfortunately, she also knew that he would have some sort of half-hearted plan hatched in his brain that consisted of lovely words that would probably fool any random bimbo, but not their 'Mione.

Finally, Ginny made her mind up. She told Harry she was off to see her mother, grabbed a handful of floo powder and went to the Burrow, intent on searching Ron's room and the rest of the house for some evidence to suggest what her brother was up to. It was probably a good idea to get George in on her plan, seeing as he'd understand her theory as they are his siblings after all!

Soon after arriving, she grabbed George, explained her idea, and the pair went to work, determined to find out what Ron was doing.

** /**

Breakfast was a particularly embarrassing for Hermione. She was sure Blaise knew exactly what had happened last night, and from the looks he was giving her throughout the meal, that was indeed the case. She expected to have a full interrogation from him later on in the day.

She couldn't stop thinking about last night; it had been the most sensational she had ever experienced! It made her question why she had never had the confidence in herself to go through with it before. But she stopped herself before she could even answer it. Ron was never the right person to do it with, she understood that now, especially considering the fact that she and Draco had hit it off so quickly! Their chemistry was electric, and that was exactly what had been missing from her relationship with Ron. She couldn't have been happier if she'd tried at that moment in time. The only thing missing was her other best friends, Ginny and Harry, although she doubted that they would even step into the same room as the two ex-slytherins. She knew she would have to tell them soon, but she was too wrapped up in her current situation to even contemplate doing so; plus, she wasn't exactly sure where she and Draco were heading.

Hermione realised she was being stared at by the two males in the room and blushed, dipping her head to concentrate on eating her food so she wouldn't get lost in her thoughts once again.

Not much was said throughout breakfast, apart from the necessary pleasantries and a few comments on the weather and food. Blaise decided not to bring up the previous night, and to instead get the details from the two individuals who had been giving each other knowing looks all morning. It was so tempting to do so, but he knew he had to bite his tongue to get both sides of the story.

Once the trio had finished eating Blaise leant back on his chair and surveyed the room before finally starting conversation.

'So guys, what fun have we got planned for today then?'

'Err, I'm not too sure if I'm honest, you two did something I wanted to do yesterday, so why don't you decide today?' Hermione smiled.

The two males looked at each other, at a loss as to what to do. Normally they would lounge about the house all day swimming, reading, drinking, or playing a game of wizard chess or exploding snap. They explained this to Hermione, who seemed happy enough to do so, after all, she was tired from their sight-seeing the day before and her night with Draco. She appeared even more pleased after she was told about the library, and made her way there after excusing herself from the table.

Draco insisted on taking her there himself -granted he did have ulterior motives- but he had always had a secret fantasy of having passionate sex in a library, but he didn't dare mention this in front of Blaise, knowing all too well that he would keep bringing it up.

Once Hermione had left for the library the two friends made their way to the living room and sat in front of the fire. It was obvious to Draco that this was going to be the time Blaise questioned him on the events of the previous night. This however did not happen for another half an hour.

The men discussed various topics, such as quidditch and the running of their separate businesses, but these subjects dried out far too quickly. Concluding that he may as well give in to Blaise's curiosity Draco started up the conversation he was dreading.

'So, where was this beautiful Italian girl you were planning on bringing home last night, eh mate?' he started.

Blaise shot him a pointed look before replying, 'well, as I'm sure you saw, she was rather beautiful, but I'm afraid this one didn't match me intellectually this time.'

'Alright mate, you've never been so fussy before, what's the truth?' Draco retorted.

'The truth? I'll have you know I am telling the truth. I like to have a good conversation first thing in the morning. You can't be too rude to a lovely lady that early can you?' Blaise said, hoping his best friend would back off the questioning so he could start his own.

Draco had a convenient response on the tip of his tongue, but before he could reply, a tapping at the window caught their attention. He recognised it as one of the owls Malfoy Industries used. Confused, he let the owl in, took the letter and fed it an owl treat before it flew off.

Blaise raised his eyebrows questioningly, but said nothing as Draco opened the letter.

The young Malfoy had to re-read his letter to fully understand what it said. It was most unexpected and still made no sense; how could this happen? He had put precautions in place to avoid this type of thing.

Finally looking at his friend, he crumpled the letter and shoved it in his pocket.

'I have to go mate', he simply said.

'What? Why? Has something happened with the industry? That was one of your owls wasn't it?'

'Yeah, it was, something has happened there and I need to head back to sort out this shit… I need to say bye to 'Mione, I'll be back shortly. Can you look after her whilst I'm gone? I hate having to leave her so soon, but you know how business is, I can't stay and leave the office to sort itself out.'

'Yeah, sure mate, no problem. She'll probably just hole up in the library until you get back, knowing her. I'll have trouble getting her out to eat now that we've let her loose!'

Nodding in response and muttering a quick thanks, Draco hurried to the library to explain to Hermione he had to go back to England as soon as possible, planning to apparate straight to the office afterwards so he could sort everything out swiftly enough to be back the next day.

**/**

'Is it done?' he asked the woman.

'Yes, it is. He'll be here soon enough, then you can question him as much as you want, okay?' she replied.

'Good, that's very good…' he said to no-one in particular.

Shifting in her seat slightly she turned to look at him directly, 'so can I have my reward for it now please?' ignoring the look of disgust in his eyes and focussed on the lust that she could also see.

'If I must, are you sure I can't give you anything else? It's only a business deal after all.'

'No, no, this will suffice if you want my help in the future as well', _plus, I'll see that I get what I want and _he_ gets what's coming to him_, she added in her mind, seductively walking over to the man, sitting on his lap and started kissing him and undressing herself.

**/**

**Oooooh so who is it at the end eh? Let me know who you think it is and what they're plotting in a review yeah? I'll give you a double chocolate cheesecake ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

**A/N. Hey guys, thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter! Have a double chocolate cheesecake! Here's the next chapter, as I'm not sure as to when I'll be able to get the next up, depending on my results and whether I get into uni tomorrow... Anyway, enough of the depressing real life!**

**To those who reviewed as guests so I couldn't reply: maymegirl -I'm sorry if this isn't as happy as you want, but it has some hope in it, and Tale - thank you! I always do a spell check and a re-read, but some just slip through my fingers sadly.**

**Anyway, enough of this note, and on with the story!**

**/**

Ginny and George had been searching Ron's room all day without success. There was no clue whatsoever as to his whereabouts, which worried the two siblings. As they decided to give up for the evening, George went looking for the letter they had received from Hermione, only to realise it was missing from where he had last put it. Confusion plain on his face, he looked under the table he had placed it, and even went around the house, asking his parents if they had seen or touched it: none of them had.

Realisation dawned on Ginny's face as she slowly put the pieces together, 'George! I know where Ron is!' she exclaimed.

'Where Gin? We found nothing to suggest where he might be. I don't know how you come up with these things', he replied.

'Think George. Don't you think it's awfully convenient that he suddenly gets up and leaves one day and then basically runs away from Mum and the rest of you when he's questioned about where he's going. Add that to the fact that 'Mione's letter is missing, and there you have it. He's gone to Rome to find her!'

'Shit', George said, 'we've got to warn her!'

'Warn who about what?' a voice asked from the kitchen.

'Ron!' the siblings cried in unison.

'Where the fuck have you been Ron?' Ginny shouted, 'you didn't tell anyone where you were going, not even Harry, and we've been worried sick!'

'What's it to you?' he questioned, 'I've been busy doing things I want to do, that don't involve anyone else, got it?' a smug smile appearing on his face, 'anyway, I have an important meeting to attend to shortly, so I'm off to change, and I'm not sure when I'll be back' leaving George and Ginny staring at him in shock as he walked off up the stairs.

'We have to write to her now!' Ginny whispered to George.

He nodded, quickly grabbed a piece of parchment, wrote a few lines, grabbed the family owl, and sent a message to Hermione, hoping that she would get it before whatever Ron was planning got sent into motion.

**/**

Hermione was peacefully sitting in the library of Zabini Manor, reading an old potions book she'd never seen before, when she was almost scared to death by Draco who came up behind her and grabbed her shoulders, which would make anyone scream! 'Don't you _ever_ do that to me again Draco Malfoy!' she yelled, 'you could've given me a heart attack, or worse, I could've _died_! I did not survive the war to be scared to death by the likes of you!'

'Don't be so melodramatic 'Mione, you wouldn't have _died_! Anyway, I thought you'd appreciate my presence, you certainly weren't complaining last night', he said with a wink, causing her cheeks to turn pink.

'Yes, well, that's not the point at all is it? Just don't scare me like that again, please?'

'Fine, I won't. But sadly I'm not here to make conversation, or have a repeat of last night. I've been called away to Malfoy Industries because we've had a bit of an incident…'

'An incident? What kind of incident?'

'Will you let me finish please?' he asked, giving her a slight look.

'Sorry', she murmured.

'Well, I'm not entirely sure what it is, only that there's been a sort of break in or something at one of the muggle sectors of it, although, nothing has been taken, which confuses me. So basically, I don't know what exactly is wrong, but I need to go back now and fix whatever shit my employees have managed to cause.'

'Right, so you're going back to your company because someone else fucked something up that they can't fix, so they have to get the big boss in to do it, despite not knowing what it is themselves. That makes no sense. Surely it'd be better for them to find out what has happened, then get in touch with you?'

'Well no, not really. Some of my senior management aren't the brightest people ever, so if I want this to be sorted out it's best if I do it myself. They didn't ask for me to come back, but I'd prefer to'

'Oh okay then', Hermione said sadly.

Draco caught her chin in his hand and tilted her face up to his, ''Mione, you know I wouldn't go if I didn't feel like I had to, don't you? There's no way I want to leave you here on your own, although I know you have Blaise, but especially after last night, I want to spend as much time with you as possible. I love your company, and I definitely love sleeping with you, and if I didn't, do you really think I'd come tell you that I'm leaving?' she shook her head, 'exactly. So I'll be back as soon as physically possible, and will be longing to return the whole time', he concluded.

'Okay, I believe you Draco', she smiled 'go sort out your company and I'll make sure you get a very warm welcome back', she added with a wink.

This caused Draco to smile, and he let his mind wander back to his secret library fantasy, but kept himself in check, as he knew that if he didn't go then, he wouldn't go at all. He quickly asked her not to tell Blaise, as despite being friends, they were also rivals to an extent, and he didn't want him knowing about anything that may hurt the business. From this he started to stand up, pulling Hermione up with him, kissed her passionately, and told her he'd miss her, before exiting the library.

He hated lying to her. In fact he hated lying to anyone at all, but she would never let him go if she knew the truth. He still didn't understand it though. There had been a break in, and they hadn't taken anything, but the culprit was still in the building, waiting for him to come and talk. It made no sense, as far as he knew, he didn't have any major enemies anymore. The death eaters who hated him were either dead or in Azkaban, so the only other option was that it was one of his rivals, but why would they call a meeting so informally, they could just schedule an appointment like everyone else.

Once he got to his room, he waved his wand and managed to pack a few outfits fit for a meeting in a small suitcase, grabbed a few business documents he may need, and started back to the entrance hall of Zabini Manor, worry plaguing him all the while. It didn't fit, and in the back of his mind, he knew that this wasn't a business rival, it was something far worse, but if he didn't go, they had information against him. The information wasn't even true, but they had put a spin on it that put him and his company in a bad light and may lose a lot of clients, as well as his newly reformed reputation, so he didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

Realising that Blaise was waiting for him at the entrance hall, he nodded a quick goodbye to his best friend, and apparated to his office.

**/**

About 10 minutes after he got in, Ron walked swiftly out of the Burrow, avoiding the glaring eyes of his brother and sister as he did so. He got to the apparition point without being followed and apparated to meet Pansy, at the place of their 'meeting'. On his way out, in his determination not to meet the gaze of his family, he didn't realise that George had sneakily put a new Weasley product, which was a very small tracking device that he managed to slip in Ron's pocket, and had a disillusionment charm on it, so the individual it was used on isn't able to notice it.

Back inside Ginny and George smiled at each other, glad that they managed to get one-up on Ron, the two went to explain their mother and father Ron's possible intentions, and what they had done to work out if that is indeed the case.

**/**

Once Ron arrived at Malfoy Industries he found Pansy curled up on Malfoy's office chair, gently snoring. After their evening, he wasn't surprised that she was tired, he usually wouldn't have tried so hard, but he needed her contacts, so he'd willingly obliged; he'd do anything to get Hermione back.

He walked over to her and shook her shoulder so that she'd wake up. Pansy pushed him away initially, which irritated Ron, so he pushed her back, but hard enough that she fell off the chair and landed in a heap in the middle of the space between the chair and the desk. 'Get up', he commanded, surveying the room. He had to admit that Malfoy had some sort of taste.

The room was decorated in a minimalist style, with dark walls and a dark mahogany wood fireplace, which had intricate carvings of centaurs on it. Attached to it were two similarly styled bookcases, filled with various books and files that Ron could only presume were relevant to the business. The desk seemed to match the room as well, but also had various papers on it, not that it excessively interested him though.

'Come on Pansy, get up, we need to be quick and set everything up, Malfoy will be here any second!' Ron stated.

Nodding in acknowledgement, Pansy tidied herself up, flicked her wand at the cupboard and brought out the guard they managed to capture the previous night, who they got to write the letter to Draco.

She knew he would come; he cared too much about his precious business not to. She wouldn't be so stupid as to let the world know about his former secret relationship with her and various other women to get their fathers to sign a contract with him. Personally, she didn't want to be with him, she didn't love him; it was Ron that she loved. And he loved her too, although obviously he didn't know it yet. He was still hung up on Granger, and when they make Draco give information about her, she'd use it to her advantage, not Ron's. She wasn't anywhere near as stupid as people believed she was! She was a Slytherin after all, and Slytherins are cunning, which is why no-one should ever trust them. When they find Hermione, Pansy was going to knock Ron out, convince Hermione that he was still no good for her -although she was sure she knew that anyway, Hermione wasn't the brightest witch of their age for no reason- and then threaten to hurt her friends unless she went away and never returned. There was no doubt in her mind that she didn't have the contacts to do so, hence, it would be easy to get what she wanted. It was just a shame that she had to go through this stupid interrogation with Ron to get the information as to her whereabouts in the first place!

'OI!' she heard, snapping out of her train of thought. Looking over at Ron, she saw him place a finger on his lips and point to the door. There was a faint sound of footsteps coming up the corridor, so she got into her position behind the door, ready to shut the door and stun her former lover before he realised what's going on.

**/**

As Draco walked up the corridor to his office, he could've sworn he heard an 'oi' from somewhere. Pausing, he looked up and down the corridor, a chill starting to crawl up his spine and a sense of foreboding settling around him. He knew there was something bad waiting for him the other side of his door, but he didn't want to risk Blaise finding out about anything.

_Fuck it_, he thought to himself, _I may as well send a patronus, I've always gone with my instincts, and whenever I haven't I've ended up in some sort of trouble_. So he sent his patronus to Hermione, telling her not to worry, but explained his gut feeling, and that if they haven't heard from him in 24 hours, then grab Blaise and come to Malfoy Industries with back up.

More confident in himself now that he knew he had a chance of escaping this shit he managed to get into, he strode forward, turned the door handle to his office, and walked in, rather surprised to see the Weasel sitting in _his_ leather armchair, smiling at him, wand being twirled in his fingers. _That's strange, does he know about me and 'Mione? He shouldn't do, I don't think even Blaise knows_, he thought.

Suddenly there was an almighty slam, and Draco turned round to see what the commotion was. Standing there was none other than Pansy Parkinson; at the sight of her, he placed his trademark Malfoy smirk on his features and was about to ask what the fuck was going on when he heard the words 'petrificus totalus', then he was still and falling backwards, when he smacked his head, and the world went black.

**/**

**Oooooh roll on the action stuff! I hope that wasn't too bad, I hated the idea of Draco walking in without some sort of back up plan, and the story has kind of taken on a life of its own. This wasn't what I initially had planned, but hey, let me know if it's alright in a review and I'll give you one of those massive bars of dairy milk (even if you don't live in the UK as it's gorgeous) also, I'd love for it to get up to 60 reviews (7 more) so if you're the 60th then I'll give you a mention in the next chapter and an extra virtual treat if that entices you :D**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

**Hello my lovelies! I'm so so sorry I've been gone for ages again! I could bore you with excuses but I won't, but just to let you know, I'm at University now, and have Wednesdays off, and a flat mate that keeps moaning at me to write the next chapter, so you can thank her for making me finish this, as it's been partly written for ages. As compensation, have a lovely long chapter _which is dedicated to said flat mate Becky_! Oh and those who reviewed last, have your dairy milk! Enjoy!**

Hermione was engrossed in her book that she didn't notice that an owl had been pecking on a window to the library for the past 15 minutes. It was only when the poor creature stopped pecking that she noticed that there was no longer any background noise. Looking around, she saw the newest member of the Weasley owls and let it in at once.

'Hello little one, what are you doing here? I didn't even know owls could get to me here! Maybe I'll have a chat with Blaise and find out which owls can and can't come on to the premises', Hermione thought out loud.

Recognising the scrawl of George Weasley, she immediately opened the letter, a frown appearing on her face as she read. It said that he and Ginny believed that Ron had acquired the letter she had sent to the Weasley clan about her staying in Rome and is likely to be searching for her around the city, so to keep an eye out for any unusual activity or people, in case it was him. The only thing was, she couldn't understand why he would go to such great lengths to find her. Sure, he was mad and sorry and all that, but she knew she would never get back with him again, not now she had Draco, who currently seemed absolutely perfect for her. Of course, there was no need to get ahead of herself and go all gooey eyed at the though of being in a massively long relationship with him, seeing as she had only just gotten out of one, but still… She presumed that Ron was so desperate because he didn't know about Draco, and if he did then he'd go ballistic! So she would simply write him a letter telling him not to come looking for her (if he felt so inclined to) as she was moving on and didn't want to return to their relationship, so maybe they should just give each other space to heal their wounds. _That's it, it'll be fine if I do that'_, she thought to herself.

At that moment, Blaise happened to walk into the library and see his friend.

'Hey baby cakes, what's got your wand in a knot? You're looking rather flustered'

'Hey Blaise, yeah, I've just got an owl from George and Ginny saying that Ron's basically going crazy without me and think he's up to something and trying to find me because he found a letter I sent to the family saying I was in Rome. I'm just owling Ron telling him basically not to bother, as I'm not interested anymore, not after what he's done to me!'

'Good on you! Anyway, I didn't come here to talk about this… Pray tell what happened with you and Draco last night. He's keeping quiet, but his silence speaks volumes' Blaise said with a wink, causing Hermione's cheeks to flush pink.

'Blaise, I am not at liberty to discuss mine and Draco's… our… personal lives that may _or may not_ involve intercourse.'

'Which basically means you two fucked like rabbits all night and you can't wait until he gets back so you can go for round two'

'_Blaise!_ Don't be so crude! It was nothing, and I repeat _nothing_ like that!'

'Ha! So you did fuck then didn't you!' Blaise cried with glee, which earned him a glare from his friend. 'Okay, okay, sorry for manipulating it from you, but I'm a Slytherin, what do you expect?'

'I guess you're right', Hermione replied, sighing, 'He was so sweet Blaise. There was no need for planning or anything, it was completely spur of the moment, and it felt so right. I've never felt more appreciated or content in my life.'

'I hear you sweetie, although once you're more used to it I'm sure he'll show you how he can be the complete opposite of what he was last night, he'll show you things you've never experienced before in your life, especially when it comes to speed, tempo and how long he can last.' Hermione started to interject but he continued, 'He's my best friend, I know these things', he finished in a very matter-of-fact tone.

'Okay, okay, did not need to know that, I've heard the stories in school, I know the deal! Please don't be so… vivid.'

'Whatever you say babe, so what do you want to do before dinner? We could go for a walk in the grounds, have tea…' the list went on and on, when suddenly a patronus in the shape of a beautiful dragon appeared in front of them, startling the pair.

'_Hermione, don't panic when you get this patronus' the voice of Draco said, 'I'm at Malfoy Industries and I'm slightly worried, but like I said, don't worry! Basically, I have a gut feeling right now, as I'm walking up the corridor to my office and I trust these gut feelings I get, and this particular one is telling me not to go in there without telling someone exactly where I am. Blaise knows where it is. If you haven't heard from me in 24 hours then I'd like you to send Blaise here because I think it may have something to do with certain, let's call them deals; that I've made. Blaise understands everything, so just tell him and I promise it will be fine baby. I'll see you when I get back!_' Then it was gone.

The pair sat in a stunned silence for a bit, both lost in thought as to what to do now.

'Okay, what exactly was all that about?' Hermione asked Blaise, giving him a questioning look, 'What are these supposed 'deals' that he's talking about?'

Blaise simply sat in a passive state, keeping tight lipped about the whole thing.

'BLAISE, TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON!' She shouted.

'Look 'Mione, please don't take this the wrong way when I tell you, okay? This was all before he met you and everything. These 'deals' basically consisted of Draco sleeping with the daughters of wealthy businessmen in order to help him strike deals with them. You'd be surprised how many were actually willing to do it, but as far as I know he's not done so for months, so it doesn't make sense. These women were sworn not to tell anyone, with a curse placed on them to make sure they didn't tell their fathers, so I know for a fact that it can't be that otherwise we'd hear about it in the Prophet. Something is definitely wrong, but I don't know of anyone that would even think of hurting him, no-one has a major grudge against him anymore.'

Hermione simply sat digesting the information she had just been given. She didn't have a problem with the fact that Draco had slept with many women prior to her and that it was more that likely that he had a few skeletons in his closet, but this was just awful. What kind of person would do what he did? Granted, she could understand why, but it was his morals that she was questioning. They would have to have a serious talk when he got back from his trip; speaking of which, that patronus seemed a bit off. He wouldn't send it if he wasn't sure something bad was going to happen.

Putting the issues the couple needed to talk about to the back of her mind, she decided to focus on the here and now. Draco was in trouble, and they needed to save him before something really bad happened to him, which she told Blaise.

'Look hun, if Draco says to leave it 24 hours, then maybe we should. I trust his judgement almost as much as my own.'

'No Blaise, I refuse to just sit around and worry about him for the next _day_ so I'm going to do all I can to find out who's likely to hurt him. I may need to smack him round the head with the latest issue of the Daily Prophet for being so stupid in the past, but I will find out what's wrong. He wouldn't warn us without good reason.'

He pondered her reasoning for a few minutes, but knowing that his friend would not rest until she got her way, the stubborn girl that she was, Blaise presumed that there'd be no harm in doing a bit of research. He had contacts after all, which he told Hermione, and quickly went off to make a few floo calls and phone calls.

**/**

Back at the Burrow, George and Ginny were setting up the rest of the tracking device they had attached to their brother. So soon they were looking at a map of the UK and honing in on Ron's location.

The pair were puzzled when they found out exactly where he was. 'Why would he be at Malfoy Industries?' questioned Ginny, 'He hates Malfoy, same as the rest of us, so why on earth would he be there?!'

'I've no idea Sis, but I think we need to let 'Mione know, I bet it has something to do with her! Our only problem is how to get hold of her, Wallace isn't back with her reply yet, so we can't write to her!'

The two wracked their brains for ideas, when suddenly Ginny remembered she had her mobile phone upstairs in her room. She ran up the stairs and returned in record time. She sat down at the table with her brother, started calling Hermione's number and put it on speaker phone.

**/**

Hermione was in the middle of reading a book on the repercussions of bad business dealings in the magical world when her phone rang. Presuming it was her mother checking on her, she ignored it, vowing to call her back as soon as possible.

**/**

'She's not picking up!' Ginny said in exasperation.

'Just keep calling, if she's ignoring it, just keep calling until it annoys her enough to make her actually get up and answer it!' George replied.

'Fine, let's go again then…'

**/**

The phone kept ringing and ringing and ringing. Whoever it was evidently did not want to give up, which annoyed Hermione to no end.

Finally giving in, she walked over to the table where her phone was stored in her bag, and looked at it. She had 7 missed calls from Ginny, _crap_, she thought to herself, and answered the phone as soon as the phone started ringing again.

'Hello…?' she said timidly.

'HERMIONE GRANGER, HOW DARE YOU NOT ANSWER THE PHONE TO ME AND GEORGE, THIS COULD BE A LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION!' Ginny screamed down the phone, causing Hermione to hold the phone away from her ear, as she wished to be able to hear the rest of the conversation, whatever turn it may take.

'I'm sorry Gin, I just thought you might be my Mum or something, and I would've called back later, but I'm genuinely in a potential life or death situation here!'

'Right' Ginny said, 'And how exactly are you? And where on earth is 'here'? We've been worried sick, did you even get our owl?'

Guiltily Hermione looked on the floor of the library and saw the owl her friends had sent her earlier that day. 'Sorry, I've had a lot of drama today, and completely forgot about it, I was genuinely going to reply, but then this came up' she replied sadly.

Ginny sighed at the other end of the phone, 'It's fine, just don't do it again or we'll have to hex you!' she laughed, 'Anyway, you never answered my questions'

'Oh yeah, long story short, I met Blaise Zabini at my hotel in Rome, we became friends, I got an owl from Ron, who was being an arse, so Blaise took me to his mansion where he had a… friend staying here, who I became friends with, who has a slight business issue which may turn out to be a deadly one', Hermione gushed.

'Riggggghhhhtttt', George answered sceptically. 'Wait a second, did you say Blaise Zabini's friend has a bit of a business issue?'

'Yes, why?'

'Well, we decided to test a new Weasley product on our Ronnikins, and it turns out he's currently at Malfoy Industries. By any chance is this 'friend' you have made none other than that git Malfoy?'

Hermione went pale. 'Yes, yes it is George. You know what this means don't you? You two cannot let your prejudices against Draco get in the way of this. He's potentially in danger, and from what you've said, it's not who we initially thought it was. It's probably Ron!'

'Wait, what?! You expect us to trust that ferret 'Mione?' Ginny asked.

'No, not exactly trust him, but trust me. He's changed Gin, he really has, and he's been so wonderful to me. He's everything Ron wasn't, and I know it's not a trick, I trust him, and he's proven himself to me. If Ron is behind this, then he's probably found out about my current friendship, relationship thing, whatever it is, with Draco and he's not going to be too pleased, or take things easy on him. Please trust me guys, we need to save him, you know how Ron can get when he loses his temper!'

'We trust you 'Mione. You grab Blaise and we'll convene at the Burrow in about 10 minutes, then we'll go sort out our arsehole of a brother! If Ferretface is what you want, then we'll have to accept it and Ron will have to pay for his actions before you left and these ones now.'

**Hope you enjoyed! Reviewers get some home made cakes we baked the other day! Oh and the 60th reviewer will still get a mention in the next chapter following said review and an extra special virtual treat ;) Oh and I'll try to get the next chapter up in the next week or two! :D**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

**A/N. Hello lovelies, I'm so sorry for taking longer than 2 weeks! But anyway, never mind, the next chapter's here now right? *cue nodding* Anyway, I finally got over 60 reviews, which is awesome! The 60th reviewer was Mitodoteira, so you get some personalised chocolate as well as the home-made cakes we baked! And thanks to all the other reviewers, you're awesome and get some of the cakes too! On with the story!**

Draco awoke in a warm, dark room, his head throbbing with pain and his vision swimming as he attempted to open his eyes. He groaned and tried to stretch his arms out to steady himself when he realised he couldn't move them. Blinking away the blurriness in his eyes, he looked down at his arms and legs, finding that they were magically tied to the particularly uncomfortable chair he was sitting on. His rear end was numb, so he supposed he had been in this position for longer than he would have liked to. He chanced a glance around the room, which he now recognised as his office at Malfoy Enterprises, when the memories of what had previously happened hit him as he saw Pansy sitting on his chair twirling her wand in her fingers, evidently not realising he had come around yet. Looking behind Pansy, he saw the Weasel staring into the fire, holding what looked like an old picture. Draco couldn't work out who was in it for the life of him, so didn't strain himself anymore, he felt bad enough as it was, why make things worse? _Could they get any worse?_ He wondered when Weasley turned round, a cruel smile gracing his face.

'Ah, so you're awake I see?' he stated, looking down at Pansy who had stopped playing with her wand and was now looking straight at her ex.

Draco sneered at the pair of them and spat 'What do you want from me Weasley? I've done fuck all to you since school, cut to the chase and tell me what you want, I have things I need to attend to abroad!'

'Oh, you won't be returning there for a while Malfoy, you see, I have a few questions for you. A few little questions about _my_ Hermione; I hear that you've been spending some time with her recently, so how about you tell me exactly where she's hiding out? I don't see why she is, she _loves_ me and will always come back to me in the end, so it's just quicker for me to just ask you and go find her myself'

Draco's face went more pale than usual. _Did he know about him and Hermione? Is that why he's been tied up and not allowed to leave?_ Placing his blank expression on his face Draco simply responded with 'I haven't got a clue what you're talking about. Why would I soil my presence by spending time with a filthy little Mudblood?!' Inwardly cringing at the phrase.

'Well I know for a fact that you've done so, because you see, I've done a bit of my own research, and it seems that you've been around Rome with her recently, which by the way I have from a reliable contact. I don't care much for your so-called friendship with her, it'll be simply a memory when I'm back in her life; I just need to find her.'

'Go fuck yourself Weasley, you wouldn't have me knocked out and bound by your little trollop here if you were only interested in getting her back. There must be more! Why do you even want her now? You have Pansy, you chose her over 'Mione. You've made your bed, so how about you just sleep on it!'

'You see Malfoy, I knew for a fact that you would never come and talk to me of your own free will, especially with your new-found _friendship_ with Hermione, so I asked dear Pansy here for some help in getting you here. It didn't take much. Plus I get the added bonus of seeing you at my mercy for once, rather than the other way round, the way it _used_ to be back at school! But now the tables have turned; I can make you suffer the way me, Harry and Hermione did at your hands. It's payback time.'

/

About 8 minutes after Hermione and Ginny had finished their phone call, the rather unlikely group were huddled in Ginny's bedroom at the Burrow. It had taken Hermione a mere 4 minutes to locate Blaise and tell him the basic outline of what she had uncovered along with the help of her two red-headed friends.

'So chaps, how are we planning to sort out our brother dearest, and do we have a clear idea as to why on earth he felt the need to capture the Ferret in his own office?' George asked.

'Well, in my opinion, it's likely to be one of three theories', Hermione said, 'Number one: Draco has done some dodgy business deals with someone and Ron is one of their contacts who's being used to sort everything. I personally think this is the least likely, because I know that Ron probably wouldn't be trusted with such a task. Secondly, it could be that he found out about certain… events that have gone on these past few days at and around Zabini Manor, which again seems fairly unlikely, seeing as it was only the three of us that know of such events. My third and final idea is that he somehow found out that I've been spending time with Blaise and Draco, and thought the best way to get to me was to go through one of them. In addition to this, he probably just wants a reason to get back at Malfoy a bit more from when we were at school together; hence, why this seems to be the most likely.'

Her three friends looked at her with slightly glazed over eyes, still taking in all that she had told them. Ginny was the first to understand where Hermione was coming from and nodded in agreement, her own mind considering their best approach to sorting out the problem. The men in the room shortly caught on, and the four were soon immersed in thought, all trying to decide how to stop Ron an work out the potential pros and cons for each idea.

Finally, Blaise's patience wore off and he groaned loudly, causing the others to look up at him in annoyance at disturbing their thinking. 'This is useless! I say we just storm Malfoy Enterprises, wands at the ready, hex Weasley to oblivion, grab Draco and call the aurors once he's secure!' he said with a sense of finality.

'That's all well and good Blaise, but let's suppose that Ron's put up wards, defences and has some guard outside the door blocking our way in?' George questioned.

'If I'm honest, I don't think Ron would necessarily think of all these things George', Hermione said softly, 'I'd think that he wouldn't know the building well enough to simply be able to get through all the protection around there on his own, so he could have some inside help, but we shouldn't cross out the potential for him having company.'

'Well, actually 'Mione, the wards and that should have already been broken by Weasley, so we won't have too much trouble there. And as for him having company, there are four of us against, most likely, two of them. Even if he has two or even three extra helpers with him, we'll still be at least one on one, so they don't stand too much of a chance.' Blaise suggested.

'Yeah, that's true!' Ginny said enthusiastically, 'we could always get Harry, Neville, Luna etc and outnumber them even more?'

'I think not Ginny' Hermione sighed, 'the more of us there are, the more likely we are to draw too much attention to ourselves, so I think we should just keep it as the four of us. It's not as if our magic is weak or anything is it?'

There were nods all around, which Hermione took as her cue to pull together their plan; time was of the essence. 'So, we'll apparate to the alleyway outside Malfoy Enterprises, which Blaise will shortly show us so we don't splinch ourselves, from which George will lead us to the exact location of Ron, which by my reckoning will be either a dark, dank basement or warehouse, or a nice cosy place you'd never think someone would be held captive. Once we find said place, we get rid of any obstacles in our way, and somehow rescue Draco. We'll be keeping our guard up the entire time, in case we run into anyone unexpected, and be prepared to split up if we really need to. I know it's not much of a plan after we find them, but we simply cannot determine what we will be up against from then on in, so we should probably take some of your Wizard Wheezes products George, seeing as they do sometimes come in handy in these sorts of situations. How does that sound?'

'Brilliant 'Mione' Ginny said excitedly, 'I say we prepare split up into pairs, you with George and me with Blaise. Mainly because I think I'm going to have to get used to you being round more often!'

'I'd say that's true Red', Blaise replied, sending her a signature smile and a wink.

'Blaise, tone it down, she's with Harry remember. She won't want to sleep with you' Hermione scolded.

'I know, I know. It's just a habit, one that I currently have no intention of breaking at that!' he replied cheekily.

'Yeah, yeah, c'mon, I need to have a good long, hard talk with Draco, and I can only do that once we save him, so please move your arse and get to the apparition point!' Hermione all but screamed at him.

'Calm down, I'm moving I'm moving!'

They reached the apparition point within 10 seconds, Blaise showed them the address of Malfoy Enterprises, and the four were soon apparating to save the Ferret.

/

Pansy was bored. Malfoy, for some stupid reason, was not giving up the location of the Mudblood, and it was simply mind-numbing watching her Ron torturing him. She thought that the ministry had tightened its security in terms of monitoring the unforgivables, but evidently that wasn't the case. Ron had crucio'd Draco at least 3 times now, as well as physically beating him up in this whole _revenge_ plot, but was now back to finding his precious _Hermione_, and Malfoy's taunting was also tiring her.

'Seriously Weasley, I don't get why you're going through all this. It's clear she doesn't want you, so give up. You've gotten your so-called revenge on me, so why draw it all out? _She doesn't want you_'

'SHUT UP MALFOY! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING' Ron shouted.

That's when it dawned on her. She understood just why it was so hard to get this information. There was only one way to get it from him, and that was to tell Ron the truth, which only moments ago she had realised! Draco was in love with Hermione Granger. Personally she used to believe that you couldn't just fall in love with someone without properly knowing them for a long time, but with those two, they'd known each other for years as children. Granted they hated each other, but love and hate have a very thin line, and she knew for a fact that Draco had tried to make up for his behaviour since the war, so it could be possible that he had showed her how he'd changed and she had already liked it.

With this realisation, she rose from her seat and came up behind Ron, massaging his shoulders. 'I know how to get it out of him' she whispered softly into his ear, causing him to whip round and grab hold of her, his eyes pleading her to tell him.

Ignoring Ron's puppy eyes, she diverted her gaze to Draco and looked him straight in the eye. The look she gave him frightened him to his very core. _She knew_. People had always underestimated Pansy, he knew that from school, but he couldn't let her tell Weasley, he would definitely kill him if he found out, at least the way he was now, he had a slight chance of survival.

She opened her mouth to say it when there was a sudden **BOOM!**

**A/N. Oooooh sorry to leave you with a cliffie! I felt it was the best place to leave it you see... I'm thinking that this story is likely to be about 3-6 more chapters (I'll know more once I've written them!) including an epilogue :) Cheesecake for all those who review!**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

**A/N. Heyaaaa guys, so I was in a good mood and decided to write the next chapter like, as soon as I finished the last and was going to update yesterday, but ended up on the xbox with my flat mate singing along to the game Lips, so my apologies for not putting it up yesterday! Cheesecake for those who reviewed ;) Anyway, I think I'm about a chapter or two plus and an epilogue away from the end, sad times eh? But enough of my jabbering, so on with the story!**

The foursome arrived in a dank alleyway in the heart of Malfoy Enterprises. Hermione was not expecting the land to be small by any means, it was Malfoy after all, but this was positively huge! She wondered how anyone could work their way through its halls, let alone how Ron was able to! He _must _have had help. Silently cursing the sheer size of this place she looked to George for directions.

The group wandered along for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only about 25 minutes. By the time they reached the end of the hallway where the tracked said Ron was, they had only seen a few muggle employees as well as two wizards, who were deep in conversation about the latest headline in the Daily Prophet, therefore allowing the group to carefully slip past them.

Now that they were mere metres away from Ron, Hermione's heart started beating faster. She hade a gut feeling that Draco was in there as well, and she knew from the war that her best bet was to trust her gut feelings, no matter what the situation. That was when they heard it; someone spoke to Ron with venom in their voice, and all Hermione could make out was the words '_She doesn't want you_'. She instantly recognised that voice and turned to catch Blaise's eye, who returned her look with a hopeful smile, which was sadly interrupted by Ron practically screaming 'SHUT UP MALFOY! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING'.

'Well, at least that confirms they're in there', George whispered.

'Yeah, but we don't know if anyone else is!' Gunny replied.

Hermione racked her brains, going through various revealing spells, but she couldn't remember the one she was looking for. All she remembered was that it was undetectable. Scrunching her face up in concentration, she suddenly felt someone poking it. Tuning round George gave her a wink and whispered in her ear, 'don't worry about who's in there, I've got it sorted. I've developed the Decoy Detonators so that they'll not only blow themselves up, but if they're next to a door, or some sort of fairly thin surface, so obviously not a wall, it will blow it up as well, give off some smoke and basically make such a racket that it'll confuse the hell out of anyone in there.

She looked at him sceptically, not entirely trusting his judgement, but the pregnant silence coming from the room was making the hairs on the back of her neck rise, so gave her nod or reassurance.

Quickly explaining to the other two what was going on, George crawled towards the door to Draco's office, rolled the Detonator 2.1 (as Hermione decided to refer to it as) to the door, got up, ran back to his friends and they awaited the sudden booming sound they were expecting with their fingers in their ears, giving them about a minute to secure the area.

**/**

There was a sudden burst of sound, it was deafening, and Draco had no idea what he could or couldn't do. His eardrums felt like they were burning, but there was nothing he could do about it. He just sat there, feeling even weaker than he already was from the beating he had gotten from the Weasel and the torture he had suffered from the curse. He thought crudely that it was a good job he had gotten somewhat used to it during the war when the Dark Lord inhabited his house. This time round he was able to keep himself from shouting or screaming. Bringing himself somewhat back into the present he realised he could see outlines of more people in the room, which couldn't have been right. He was sure that he had told Hermione to wait until he was gone 24 hours, but he supposed that he wouldn't put it past her to come as soon as she received the message. _That's my girl_, he thought to himself, managing a feeble smile, before passing out.

**/**

As soon as the detonator exploded, and the sound was waning, Blaise, Ginny, George and Hermione rushed into the room in their designated pairs, wands at the ready, with one person lighting the way through with a lumos, and the other preparing to hex anyone they saw.

Hermione was the first to notice the body of who she assumed was Draco, sitting on a chair, bound by magical ropes, so he wasn't able to escape. He was badly bruised and he had blood dripping from his nose, which looked broken, and his bottom lip. Thankfully he didn't seem to be conscious at that moment, so she thought it best to leave him until they had secured the area, as it were.

Soon after, Ginny and Blaise had found Ron, who wasn't looking too brilliant himself. It looked as if he had been hit by a bit of debris somewhere on his head, as his flaming hair had a bit of blood matted into it along with door rubble.

Doing one last quick survey of the room, the friends concluded that no-one else was in the room, so Ronald had to be working alone, unless his accomplice, presuming he had one, wasn't present whilst he was harming Malfoy.

'So little brother, may I ask what you've been doing to this chap on the chair over there?' George asked Ron.

'None of your business _brother_, he and I had an old score to settle, that's all. He got exactly what was coming to him, the slimy git! It's about time he paid for what he did to us in school, plus he knew where 'Mione was, he was going to tell me where she is, seeing as you lot, my own family, wouldn't.'

'Hold on a minute', Hermione interjected, 'the only reason they didn't say anything was because I didn't want to see or hear from you, and asked them not to tell you. They didn't have much choice in the matter, as they obviously respected my wishes, unlike you, so before you go around accusing your family of not being acting like it, they were only acting based on what I had said.'

'But 'Mione, you do want to hear from me. I love you and you love me, there's nothing else to it. I apologised for what I did, and won't do it again. I only had Malfoy because some woman in Rome told me they'd seen you with him, so I was going to find out where you were and come and surprise you!'

'That's pathetic Ronald. Since when has it been acceptable to capture and torture someone because they knew where someone was, and to punish them for what they did to us as children?! Draco suffered enough through the war, and has tried his best to make up for his past mistakes. You may not believe that, but I've experienced it firsthand, so do not start spurting about how he hurt us as children!'

'Calm down dear, you're practically shouting…' a weak voice breathed.

Looking down, Hermione saw that Draco had woken up and had probably heard most of what she had just said to Ron. She muttered a quick unbinding spell and he all but collapsed into her waiting arms next to him. Ginny went over to them to help her friend get Malfoy up and out of the poor excuse of a chair he was sitting in, whilst Blaise and George seated Ron in Draco's office chair, binding him with the same magical ropes he had previously used, before flooing the Ministry of Magic to explain their current situation.

Sensing that this was her best chance of escape, Pansy jumped up and started running for the exit, only to be put in a full body bind by none other than Hermione.

Levitating the Slytherin girl back into the room, Hermione saw that someone had already transfigured a comfy chair from Draco, so she took advantage of the one he had previously been sitting on to place Pansy's currently still form.

'Look at who I found trying to sneak off' Hermione said flatly, he dislike for the woman in front of her practically radiating off of her.

'Ah I see. We thought you'd had help Ronnikins' Ginny said to her older brother, 'you couldn't have easily worked your way here without a great deal of planning otherwise, and we were fairly sure that there wasn't a huge amount of planning involved'.

Ron simply grunted at them, preferring not to answer.

'You see, this is why I said I would never get back together with you again, because one way or another, you're more than likely to get another witch involved in our lives, and I'm sorry, but I can't deal with that!'

Everyone in the room that could still express emotion had a look of sadness in their eyes, knowing that this was the end of a very long friendship the pair had had. But they all knew it couldn't be helped; Ron had done too much.

Sensing her discomfort Draco raised his arms slightly, in the hope that she'd see and come to him so he could comfort her at this saddening time. Thankfully she did, and sighed into his awaiting arms, whilst Ginny stared at them, unbelieving, but with tears of happiness in her eyes. She knew even this early on that this was the man her best friend was meant to be with. Even though his eyes were hardly visible, she could see the love and affection in them, and glanced at her older brother to see his reaction.

In any other context it may have been amusing, but the look of pure shock upon Ronald Weasley's face could rival anything. That was the exact moment when he realised what Pansy had been about to say before the door had been blown off. Malfoy, the pureblood, bigoted prat was either in love, or falling in love with _his_ Hermione. Only he'd realised far too late. There was nothing he could do now. He had lost the love of his life forever, and then did something he hadn't done in many months: he began to cry.

**/**

Soon, aurors had arrived at the scene and took in the currently shabby state of the room. It was definitely not what they had expected the Malfoy Enterprises head office to look like, but then again, considering what had just taken place there, it wasn't so surprising it was such a mess!

The unlikely villain by the name of Ron Weasley was taken away to the ministry for further questioning on top of what he had been asked by his family, Hermione and Blaise. Pansy was unfrozen from her body bind and was also taken away.

Draco was being looked at by mediwitches, and was due to be taken to St Mungos for further analysis and treatment for his injuries. Hermione was going to go with him. Ginny and George were planning to go home and tell their family the news about the youngest Weasley son, once George stopped bragging to the aurors about some of the new products he was testing for Ministry use. That left Blaise to be the one to go and explain to Narcissa Malfoy her only son's present situation –a prospect he was not really looking forward to, he knew how worried that woman could get.

Saying brief goodbyes, Hermione, Ginny, George and Blaise agreed to meet up the next day for lunch to go over the events of the day, sort out what they were going to have to tell the press, and basically get their heads together.

**A/N. Hope you all enjoyed it! Let me know what you think in a review yeah? You'll get a bar or Happy Cows Milka chocolate... :P**


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